COLORADO SPRINGS. Nearly 200 people from different faiths took part in a “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rally outside the downtown office of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. The rally is a response to a health care mandate by the President Barack Obama’s administration that would force religious institutions to pay toward free contraception and sterilization for everyone. The Catholic Church opposes contraception and sterilization and has fought to have the mandate rescinded based on a violation of the church’s freedom to act according to its teachings.

COLORADO SPRINGS. The Diocese of Colorado Springs’ annual appeal, Returning God’s Gifts (RGG), launched the weekend of Jan. 21-22 with a celebratory video of the good works performed by the clergy, religious and faithful of the diocese. The theme of this year’s campaign, which was highlighted with a wrap in the Jan. 20 edition of The Colorado Catholic Herald, is “Because I’m Catholic.”