Bishops of the Orthodox Churches –those of the various jurisdictions in the USA– have called upon the Orthodox faithful to protest the Obama Administration’s ruling which affects matters of conscience. Since this is NOT a Catholic issue –one needs to say it’s a matter for all people, regardless of profession of faith. Exercising one’s right to speak out against injustice, here it’s a matter of injustice done by the government, Christians need to unite their hearts, minds, and voices and work for substantial change.
One doesn’t hear of the Orthodox Church on Pro-Life matters too often but you do see a greater presence of the Orthodox Church at events like the Pro-Life March in Washington, DC. In recent years their bishops, priests, seminarians (from St Vladimir’s) and laity have begun to show up to the March. They gather at the Orthodox Cathedral and walk with the others.
Here, we all need the Orthodox witness. Thanks goes to Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Savas (Pittsburgh) for his good work on the project.
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North
and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in
the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent
decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services,
and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected
representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the
sanctity of the Church’s conscience.
In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care. We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment.