FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

NEW ORLEANS, LA (August 27, 2012) - A group of Catholic women in the New Orleans area are fed up with what they believe is infringement on their religious freedom, and they are doing something about it. They are attempting to answer the call from US Catholic bishops asking the laity to get involved in protesting the HHS mandate.

“The US Department of Health and Human Service mandate that all US residents and businesses purchase health insurance that includes coverage for contraception and abortifacient drugs is in direct violation to the teachings of the Catholic Church,” said Sally Steger, one of the organizers of America Code Blue.

“Our idea is to flood Congress and the Senate with blue envelopes and hard copy letters in protest!” said Sally. “If everyone mails their letters around the same time....it will have a huge impact.”

“Emails can easily be ignored and no one really sees it,” she said. “Hard copy colored envelopes will get the attention of postal workers, office workers and hopefully the media.”

The grassroots effort is timed to have maximum impact on Congress before the November 2012 elections. The target mailing for the letters is between September 8 and September 15, 2012, but letters can be mailed anytime before the November election.

The campaign has the support of the New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond, who recently posted information about it on his diocesan communication to pastors.

“The Archbishop called it an excellent plan and asked us to send a packet of information to every pastor in New Orleans,” said Sally.

The group has 35 parishes on board at present, and has collected about 9,000 signed letters so far. “We have 20,000 envelopes ready to go, and we will likely order more,” said Sally. “It is very exciting to see how many people are so grateful to just be doing something! If this fails...at least we can say we went down trying.”

America Code Blue’s website -- www.americacodeblue.com -- provides information about how to get involved, including an easy to follow plan and information on obtaining blue envelopes in bulk online. Small teams of citizens are asked to disseminate the prepared form letters to their own churches, service groups, and clubs. These teams provide materials, collect signatures, and do the actual bulk mailings. The campaign can be adapted to implement during events, at business and community locations and even in a door-to-door effort.

Contact

America Code Blue
http://americacodeblue.com  LA, 70125 US
Sally Steger - Organizer,  (504) 615-8138

Keywords

HHS Mandate, Religious Freedom, Catholic Church

Category

OTHER