The world is at war; there can be no doubt about it. The main thread in most, if not all of these global conflicts? Freedom.

Here in America, we too are facing battles. We see an attempt for government control of the right to life, the right to bear arms, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. The Little Sisters of the Poor, a religious order of sisters whose aim is to care for the sick and the elderly is engaged in a battle for their very existence. The case, Zubik v. Burwell, has reached the Supreme Court, and even the highest judiciary body in the land is in conflict with itself over The Little Sisters of the Poor case. It heard arguments March 23.

Basically, this is a challenge not only of Government v. The Little Sisters of the Poor, but more accurately: Government vs. the U.S. Constitution. This is a battle for religious freedom for everyone in the United States, not only Catholics.

One of the government’s duties is to protect our freedoms; this includes freedom of religion, not persecuting those who practice their faith. Ours is freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. We live in a country founded on Judeo/Christian principles. We have the right to freely practice and live by those principles.

The Catholic Church, not only in America, but throughout the world, stands with The Little Sisters of the Poor in their battle with this Health and Human Services mandate. It is morally wrong to force anyone to violate one’s religious beliefs, more so if that which is mandated will directly affect life, the most basic of all freedoms.

It is essential that while America’s very fabric appears to be unraveling before our eyes, we must do all we can to protect our rights in ways big or small. The Little Sisters of the Poor are on the frontlines. Their only hope is to win the right to continue caring for the elderly and sick as they have always done, assuring these special people a life that is dignified and one in which they know they are truly loved.

We are all called to join forces with The Little Sisters of the Poor in prayer and any other way to show solidarity with their noble cause.

Albert Einstein once remarked: “The world is too dangerous to live in — not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who sit and let it happen.”

Sister Michele Jascenia, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church order, lives in the Holy Family Motherhouse in the Baltic section of Sprague.