Religious Freedom and 1st Amendment

"It also is important to understand that full religious freedom is a rich reality with broad personal and societal implications. Religious liberty begins with the right to worship according to one's conscience, but it does not end there. Religious freedom covers a broad range of vital activities, from freedom of worship to freedom of conscience, from the right to establish schools and charities to the right to participate in and seek to influence public affairs.

Religious freedom is inextricably linked to other fundamental human rights, such as freedom of association, freedom of speech, and the legal recognition of voluntary associations. Religious freedom is a right exercised by both individual persons and religious communities and institutions."—Archbishop Thomas Wenski, in testimony to Congress in 2006

MCC Legislative Action

State Advocacy

• See MCC Testimony on the Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone, (pdf) July, 2013.
• See MCC Testimony on the Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone, (pdf) , June, 2011

Federal Advocacy

• Bishops Letter to Protect Religious Freedom in Federal Health Care Initiative (pdf)