I encourage each of my readers to click on the Manhattan Declaration link in the upper left column and find out more about its intent and call for action - and sign it.
In light of our congressmen denying inalienable rights {through the proposed healthcare reform] to ALL unborn children as well as turning a deaf ear to the more than 60% of Americans who are pleading with them to not fund abortion with our money, there is sadly the liklihood that, we as Americans, will have to defend the future of our country and our Constitution against their actions.
What follows is a letter I sent to my Bishop regarding the Manhattan Declaration and my expectations that he, along with our country's spiritual leaders, stand up and be counted in the defense of life. Please consider your involvement and sign the Declaration.
Ways you can be effective in defending Life;
Read and sign the Manhattan Declaration in support of the original signers Wiite the leaders of your churches and let them know what the Manhattan Declaration is and ask them to become involved;
Talk with family, friends and neighbors about the Manhattan Declaration;
Write a letters to the Editor of your local newspapers;
Get involved in our Government process and stay informed of assaults on the integrity of Life;
Call and write your congressmen and congresswomen and let them know that you will defend Life and that you are a supporter of the Manhattan Declaration.
Below is a letter that you are free to use and modify when writing your spiritual leaders:
29-November-2009
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 914
Arlington, VA 22203
Dear Bishop Loverde:
I am writing you regarding the Manhattan Declaration and the Catholic Church's stand on the sanctity of all human life, the dignity of marriage as a unique, singular, conjugal union between a man and a woman, and the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Americans of all denominations are suspicious of our government's intrusion and legislation that circumvents certain individual rights in an effort to closer align American society with a liberal egalitarian view.
Ironically, the very laws enacted to create new rights for others are supplanting our traditional and deeply held belief in inalienable rights - the very idea from which the foundation of our civilization was built. As an example, a point has been reached to where "gay rights" are being forced in our schools in a way that abridges religious freedoms and beliefs.
The original 150 signers of the Manhattan Declaration have vowed civil disobedience if they are forced to endorse or take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages among other things that violate the Christian conscience. These religious leaders (including 15 American Bishops ) have all stated that they will continue to practice their Christian faith even if it leads to jail time, loss of tax emption, fines, etc. They have chosen to make their stand and to preserve the organs of society and fight against benevolent despotism which historically has been hard to identify.
I understand that many American Catholics are unclear about the nature of civil disobedience. I would ask my fellow countrymen of all religious denominations to refer to history and one of our greatest advocates of inalienable rights and human dignities, Martin Luther King, Jr. In his letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, he wrote to his colleagues to answer their concerns about his civil disobedience:
One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."
I believe all Catholics should be aware of this opportunity to draw the line in the sand and stand together with our religious leaders in preparing to disobey unjust laws that erode our inalienable rights and the fundamental Christian beliefs upon which America was founded. I would also note that it is our society that has fought world-wide in defense of such inalienable rights.
Given the current state of American society and the directions our government is forcefully perusing, I ask you to consider making the Manhattan Declaration widely distributed throughout parishes of the Archdioceses of Arlington and that it is made an emergency focus issue as soon as possible. Many good Catholics and fellow Christians are unaware of the dangers that face their rights as faithful Christians and opportunity available through the Manhattan Declaration.
In closing, I wanted to say that as a culture, we Americans have lost vigilance on the matters at hand.
It is time to build together in courage and solidarity. In Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 1978 address to the graduating class of Harvard titled A World Split Apart , he pointed out that "from ancient times decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end".
I would also like to point to the historical dangers of rampant secularism leading to persecution of faiths. In 1794 the French, as a deliberate action, rode into the Catholic Vendée and brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of faithful Catholics. Why - Because they stood-up for their faith and the protection of Catholic priests who were being exterminated because they refused to take oath to the new French Constitution. The freedom to worship the way they choose today it is largely due to the sacrifice of those who died in the Vendée massacres. It was the French Revolution turning against the very people from whom it claimed legitimacy. It proved the faithlessness of the Revolution to its own principles. I fear that we may repeat history here in the United States.
Thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I am available to discuss this further as well as becoming instrumental in organizing to defend our faith.
Faithfully in Christ,
A Wold Split Apart - 1978 Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Letter from a Birmingham Jail - 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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