It is astonishing for me to believe that the federal government continues to undermine the principle of religious freedom enshrined in the earliest documents of the United States.

Case in point: In the latest of a series of perplexing decisions, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declared they understood that EWTN’s core beliefs prohibit the acceptance of the federal government’s anti-life mandate in its health plans, but denied our appeal anyway. (See story on page 2.)

Seemingly lost on the court was the fact that this decision orders EWTN to, in fact, violate our core religious beliefs and comply with the government’s HHS mandate or pay massive fines to the IRS.

In the baffling majority opinion, the court stated, “We accept the plaintiffs’ sincere belief ... that the accommodation puts them to a choice between honoring their religious beliefs and facing significant penalties. We nonetheless conclude that the accommodation imposes no substantial burden.” If being forced to go against our core beliefs is not a substantial burden, then what is?

Nevertheless, we will continue to pursue this case, now in its fifth year, and hope that the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly ruled against the unconstitutional mandate, will rule against it again.

We are grateful for the prayers and support of the EWTN family over the course of this litigation, as well as all those who have written in support of our lawsuit and in support of religious liberty. We ask for continued prayers as we consider our response to the court’s decision.

God bless you!