It is certainly very encouraging that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted an injunction in the HHS contraceptive mandate case brought by the Little Sisters of the Poor (see story on page one).

This decision to intervene, reached after a full court review, provides welcome relief to the sisters and inspiration to the other plaintiffs who continue to challenge the mandate. The fact that organizations like EWTN or the Little Sisters of the Poor are not deemed to be religious enough to qualify for a full exemption from the mandate shows how senseless the government’s rules have become. 

Instead, we are faced with the prospect of millions of dollars in fines for refusing to cooperate with the government’s requirement that we repudiate our Catholic faith.

Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve, EWTN and the state of Alabama filed a petition with the U.S. District Court in Mobile, Ala., seeking a summary judgment in our own lawsuit. While the decision of the Supreme Court in the Little Sisters’ case has no direct impact on the current legal challenge of the mandate by EWTN and the state of Alabama, it is very helpful that the court has seen fit to intervene in the matter. 

We continue to await a decision in our case and remain hopeful that the courts will ultimately provide EWTN with relief from this unjust government action. We ask you, as part of our EWTN family, to continue to keep this matter in your prayers.

God bless you!