Normally this column addresses state policy issues. This time it speaks to a national question — the scope of religious liberty in our national health care reform legislation.
Tag: amendment
One nation under God
On Independence Day we celebrate the anniversary of the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We also express our admiration and gratitude for the brave men who risked their lives and fortunes to sign this great document.
Bishop Paul Swain once wrote that in his judgment the most famous words related to the Declaration of Independence are, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.”
One nation under God
The Pledge of Allegiance reinforces the Declaration’s statement that God is the source of our nation’s independence. In 1952, the Knights of Columbus urged Congress to introduce a resolution to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The resolution was introduced by Congressman Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan and adopted by both Houses of Congress. It was signed by President Eisenhower on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.
Rally defends truth of one man, one woman
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| A protester silently holds a sign defending marriage during a rally July 27 in front of the State Capitol in Madison as counter-protesters marched loudly up State Street. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) Click here for more photos of the rally. |
MADISON — In terms of sheer numbers, if not volume, the counter-protestors won.
Hundreds marched up State St. towards the State Capitol where no more than 30 people stood waiting for the “One Man, One Woman” rally to begin at noon July 27. Standing on the Capitol steps, it was impossible not to hear them coming, shouting slogans as they went.
An overheard comment on the steps of the Capitol between two members of the media likened the scene to that in Lord of the Rings as the horde marches to battle, suggesting cutting shots of the protesters with shots from the movie.
But through it all, even when the crowd reached the Capitol and began shouting from the other side of the thin barrier of police tape, those people within the yellow-taped area stood firmly, silently. Some held signs; others held rosaries or children.
“Thank you to those with the courage to stand up for marriage,” Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), said to the crowd, which some estimates put at 50 rally supporters. “It takes courage to stand in the public square and say it takes a man and a woman to make marriage.”