Faith in Public Life, which Thomas Peters has refers to as “lefty Catholic,” is touting a letter signed by “influential Washington” lay Catholics that, as they say, opposes “the bishops.”

EXCLUSIVE: Lay Catholics Buck Bishops’ Overreach on Religious Liberty Campaign

The authors, a longstanding community of parishioners at The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, an influential Washington church, specifically identify the lawsuits by 13 Catholic dioceses (including their own Archdiocese) and the extreme rhetoric that has been used to describe genuine policy disagreements on this issue.

I’m not an “influential Washington” person. I’m just a single mom living under the poverty line in the Appalachian foothills, far from the halls of Congress. I suppose this means to some that my support for the bishops is meaningless, but I tend to think that Jesus loves the poor Catholics out here in the “sticks” at least as much as he loves the “influential Washington” Catholics.

The most important thing is that Catholics all be unified in explaining what our Faith is about and, particularly, defending the freedom of the Church. The political aspect is a by-product of that and becomes a distraction that tends to split Catholics apart. If we would all unite behind the bishops, we would be one as Christ intends. On June 8, over 50,000 of us did just that.