Freedom's top champions gather in NY

Alliance Defending Freedom co-sponsors event, President Alan Sears speaks

Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012
WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Diocese of Brooklyn, Knights of Columbus New York Council, and Priests for Life
WHAT: Religious Freedom Forum
WHEN: Sept. 20, 2012, 12:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT
WHERE: St. John’s University, Marillac Hall Auditorium, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens

QUEENS, N.Y. — Alliance Defending Freedom is co-sponsoring a Religious Freedom Forum at St. John’s University tomorrow with President Alan Sears addressing the assault on marriage and the family and its impact on freedom.
 
The forum, “The Manhattan Declaration Crosses the River: Support the Preservation of Religious Liberty,” aims to educate concerned citizens on the urgent threats to religious freedom, sanctity of life, and traditional family values. “America’s Founding Fathers could never have imagined the numerous attacks on society that jeopardize the sacredness of innocent human life, marriage and the family, and in particular, our right of conscience and our first freedom: religious liberty,” said Sears. “Alliance Defending Freedom is proud to host this event with other champions of freedom.”
 
The Manhattan Declaration initiated the forum two years ago with the Diocese of Phoenix to cultivate awareness and support of the Manhattan Declaration, a 4,700-word declaration in defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious freedom. Since November 2009, more than 532,000 people have signed the declaration.
 
The forum will begin with a Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Nicolas DiMarzio, Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, at St. Thomas More Church. St. Thomas More is the patron saint of religious freedom. A complimentary lunch will follow.
 
Key speakers include:
  • Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List
  • Dr. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University
  • Eric Teetsel, Executive Director of the Manhattan Declaration
  • Michael A. Simons, Dean of St. John’s University School of Law and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics
A live broadcast of the forum can be viewed at www.netny.net and at www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org.
 
Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an alliance-building legal ministry that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
 
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ABOUT Alan Sears
Alan Sears was the first president, CEO, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, leading its efforts from 1993-2017. Across those nearly 25 years, he built an ADF team committed to a comprehensive legal strategy that includes training, funding, and legal advocacy. Sears earned his Juris Doctor from Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. While serving in numerous positions within the Reagan and Bush administrations, he worked for the Department of Justice under Attorneys General William French Smith and Edwin Meese III, including service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Section. Sears was appointed as director of the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography and served as associate solicitor with the Department of Interior under Secretary Donald Hodel. A graduate of the University of Kentucky, Sears has continued his education with professional instruction at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, and Pepperdine University. He is a member in good standing with the American, Arizona, California, District of Columbia (inactive), and Kentucky bar associations.

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