I’m working today on putting together a round-up of news reports on yesterday’s Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rallies held across the country as well as links to statements and resources from diocesan websites. Submit a local diocesan rally news story to me on Twitter, through the contact button in the toolbar, or by posting on my Facebook page. This page will be updated throughout the day. Don’t forget to hit the tip jar!
UPDATE: City-by-city tally.
ALABAMA – Diocese of Birmingham and Archdiocese of Mobile.
NBC-13 in Alabama: Religious community rallies against Obama’s contraception mandate, Ala. Attorney General supports
Blog.AL.com: Birmingham rally opposes Obama health care mandate; AG Luther Strange vows fight
Archdiocese of Mobile, Fortnight for Freedom page.
Joint statement of Archbishop Rodi and Bishop Baker on HHS mandate.
ALASKA – Archdiocese of Anchorage, Diocese of Fairbanks and Diocese of Juneau.
No rally news found.
Bishop Kettler, Diocese of Fairbanks, Response to HHS Mandate.
Statements from Bishop Burns, Diocese of Juneau, on the HHS Mandate.
ARIZONA – Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, Diocese of Phoenix, Diocese of Tucson.
Photo, Phoenix Stand Up For Religous Freedom Rally.
Catholic Sun: Bishop Olmsted Remarks at Phoenix Rally.
Diocese of Phoenix Printable Flyer (.PDF).
Diocese of Tucson, Fortnight Holy Hour (.PDF).
Diocese of Tucson, HHS Letter to Pastors (.PDF).
ARKANSAS – Diocese of Little Rock
Arkansas News: Hundreds Rally for Religious Freedom.
San Antonio News: Article on Arkansas rally, with photos.
Fortnight for Freedom page, Diocese of Little Rock.
CALIFORNIA – Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, Diocese of Fresno, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Diocese of Monterey, Diocese of Oakland, Diocese of Orange, Diocese of Sacramento, Diocese of San Bernardino, Diocese of San Diego, Archdiocese of San Francisco, Diocese of San Jose, Diocese of Santa Rosa, Diocese of Stockton
Orange County Register: Protesters rally against health-care mandate.
Fortnight for Freedom statement from The Most Reverend Armando X. Ochoa, Bishop of Fresno.
Letter from Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of Fresno, HHS Mandate.
Video from the March rally in Los Angeles.
Statement from Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles, Fortnight for Freedom.
Diocese of Oakland, Fortnight for Freedom.
COLORADO – Diocese of Colorado Springs, Archdiocese of Denver, Diocese of Pueblo
Springs joins national birth control protests.
Colorado rallies part of national birth control protests.
CONNECTICUT – Diocese of Bridgeport, Archdiocese of Hartford, Diocese of Norwich, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford
Birth control mandate sparks Connecticut protest.
DELAWARE – Diocese of Wilmington
Diocese of Wilmington Fortnight for Freedom.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – Archdiocese of Archdiocese for the Military Services, Archdiocese of Washington
Archdiocese of Washington Fortnight for Freedom.
Video, Fortnight for Freedom, Archdiocese of Washington.
“Jesus Christ and His 12 Apostles couldn’t get an exemption.”
FLORIDA – Archdiocese of Miami, Diocese of Orlando, Diocese of Palm Beach, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Diocese of St. Augustine, Diocese of St. Petersburg, Diocese of Venice
Miami rally defends religious freedom from health insurance mandate.
Miama Archbishop Wenski: Obamacare ‘Running Roughshod Over Religious Freedom“
GEORGIA – Archdiocese of Atlanta, Diocese of Savannah
Athens: Religious organizations rally against healthcare bill.
NewsBusters: Anti-Catholic bigotry at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Archbishop Gregory letter on HHS mandate. (.PDF).
Rally opposes mandatory birth control provision.
HAWAII – Diocese of Honolulu
No rally news.
IDAHO – Diocese of Boise
No rally news.
ILLINOIS – Diocese of Belleville, Archdiocese of Chicago, Diocese of Joliet, Diocese of Peoria, Diocese of Rockford, Diocese of Springfield, St. Nicholas of Chicago for Ukrainians, St. Thomas Syro Malabar Diocese of Chicago
Chicago Tribune: Hundreds rally in Chicago to protest birth control mandate.
Canada Free Press: Chicago rally takes a new ‘twist’.
INDIANA – Diocese of Evansville, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Diocese of Gary, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana.
Rally draws 800 Hoosiers opposing federal birth control mandate.
Bloomington: Protesters join national rally opposing federal healthcare mandate.
IOWA – Diocese of Davenport, Diocese of Des Moines, Archdiocese of Dubuque, Diocese of Sioux City
Davenport: Religious group protests health care overhaul.
Rally at state Capitol blasts U.S. health care mandate.
KANSAS – Diocese of Dodge City, Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Diocese of Salina, Diocese of Wichita.
No rally news.
KENTUCKY – Diocese of Covington, Diocese of Lexington, Archdiocese of Louisville, Diocese of Owensboro.
Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, others rally against contraception mandate in health-care law.
Owensboro Group Rallies for Religious Freedom.
LOUISIANA – Diocese of Alexandria, Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana, Diocese of Lake Charles, Archdiocese of New Orleans, Diocese of Shreveport.
Baton Rouge: Obamacare protest hovers over State Capitol.
MAINE – Diocese of Portland in Maine
Augusta: Protesters take stand against healthcare law.
MARYLAND – Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Rally for religious freedom returns to Bel Air.
MASSACHUSETTS – Archdiocese of Boston, Eparchy of Newton, Diocese of Fall River, Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, Diocese of Worcester.
Hundreds attend freedom rally in Worcester.
MICHIGAN – Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, Archdiocese of Detroit, Diocese of Gaylord, Diocese of Grand Rapids, Diocese of Kalamazoo, Diocese of Lansing, Diocese of Marquette, Diocese of Saginaw
Detroit Free Press: Masses protest in Detroit, say health care law’s change in birth control mandate not enough
Video of Bishop Byrnes, March rally, Detroit.
Hundreds rally in Flint against federal birth control mandate.
Photos, Religious freedom rally in Saginaw, Catholic Diocese of Saginaw.
Diocese of Saginaw: Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies.
Ann Arbor: ‘Yes, we have the audacity to stand in the name of God.’
Detroit rally is a call to conversion.
MINNESOTA – Diocese of Crookston, Diocese of Duluth, Diocese of New Ulm, Diocese of St. Cloud, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Diocese of Winona.
No rally news.
MISSISSIPPI – Diocese of Biloxi, Diocese of Jackson.
No rally news.
MISSOURI – Diocese of Jefferson City, Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Rally against president’s contraceptive mandate held at Mo. Capitol.
MONTANA – Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Diocese of Helena.
Birth control mandate spurs Montana protesters.
Helena: Opponents protest federal contraception rule.
NEBRASKA – Diocese of Grand Island, Diocese of Lincoln, Archdiocese of Omaha.
Lincoln Journal Star: Hundreds rally against health care mandate.
NEVADA – Diocese of Las Vegas, Diocese of Reno.
No rally news.
NEW HAMPSHIRE – Diocese of Manchester.
NEW JERSEY – Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, Diocese of Camden, Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Diocese in the United States and Canada, Diocese of Metuchen, Archdiocese of Newark, Diocese of Paterson, Diocese of Trenton.
Hundreds rally in New Jersey against contraceptive mandate.
NEW MEXICO – Diocese of Gallup, Diocese of Las Cruces, Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
No rally news.
NEW YORK – Diocese of Albany, Diocese of Brooklyn, Diocese of Buffalo, Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in New York of Armenian Catholics, Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, Lithuanian Catholics outside Lithuania, Archdiocese of New York, Diocese of Ogdensburg, Diocese of Rochester, Diocese of Rockville Centre, Diocese of Syracuse, Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in USA.
Buffalo: Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Niagara Square.
NORTH CAROLINA – Diocese of Charlotte, Diocese of Raleigh.
Video from the March rally in Charlotte.
100-plus gather in Charlotte, Winston-Salem for second rallies.
About 70 rally against health-care mandate.
NORTH DAKOTA – Diocese of Bismarck.
No rally news.
OHIO – Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Diocese of Clevland, Diocese of Columbus, Eparchy of Parma, Eparchy of St. George in Canton for the Romanians, Diocese of Steubenville, Diocese of Toledo, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat- Parma, OH, Diocese of Youngstown.
Video from the March rally in Cleveland.
OKLAHOMA – Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Diocese of Tulsa.
Tulsa World: Catholics, other groups protest birth-control mandate
OREGON – Diocese of Baker, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.
Critics of Obama birth control mandate rally in downtown Portland.
PENNSYLVANIA – Diocese of Allentown, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, Diocese of Erie, Diocese of Greensburg, Diocese of Harrisburg, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Diocese of Pittsburgh, Diocese of Scranton, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
Allentown rally draws more than 300.
Bishop Barres’ January letter on HHS Mandate.
Video message from Bishop Bartchak on the HHS Mandate.
Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Fortnight for Religious Freedom.
100 rally in Pittsburgh against healthcare law.
Bishop Zubik: Mandate lawsuits stem from faith, not politics.
RHODE ISLAND – Diocese of Providence
No rally news.
SOUTH CAROLINA – Diocese of Charleston
500 at rally opposing birth control mandate.
Charleston protesters fear loss of religious freedom.
South Carolina rallies to oppose birth control mandate.
SOUTH DAKOTA – Diocese of Rapid City, Diocese of Sioux Falls.
No rally news.
TENNESSEE – Diocese of Knoxville, Diocese of Memphis, Diocese of Nashville.
No rally news.
TEXAS – Diocese of Amarillo, Diocese of Austin, Diocese of Beaumont, Diocese of Brownsville, Diocese of Corpus Christi, Diocese of Dallas, Diocese of El Paso, Diocese of Fort Worth, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Diocese of Laredo, Diocese of Lubbock, Diocese of San Angelo, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Diocese of Tyler, Diocese of Victoria.
KRIS: Protestors Rally Against Obamacare.
Corpus Christi, Caller: Friday rally at federal courthouse draws crowd in protest of Affordable Care Act.
Diocese of Austin, Fortnight for Freedom.
UTAH – Diocese of Salt Lake City.
No rally news.
VERMONT – Diocese of Burlington.
No rally news.
VIRGIN ISLANDS – Diocese of St. Thomas, VI.
No rally news.
VIRGINIA – Diocese of Arlington, Diocese of Richmond.
Catholic Online: Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Virginia Beach.
Charlottesville group takes stand against health mandate.
WASHINGTON – Archdiocese of Seattle, Diocese of Spokane, Diocese of Yakima.
No rally news.
WEST VIRGINIA – Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
No rally news.
WISCONSIN – Diocese of Green Bay, Diocese of La Crosse, Diocese of Madison, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Diocese of Superior.
Protesters rally against health mandate.
WYOMING – Diocese of Cheyenne.
