Donohue: Contraception Mandate Will be Fought With 'Lawsuits' & 'Maybe Even in the Streets

The battle over the Obama administration's contraception mandate continues to heat up. On Monday, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, made some bold proclamations regarding just how hard the Catholic Church plans to fight the government's requirement that religious-affiliated schools and organizations cover contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs.

(Related: Glenn Beck: "We Are Battling for the Very Soul of Each of Us and Our Nation")

"Never before, unprecedented in American history, for the federal government to line up against the Roman Catholic Church," said Donohue. "This is going to be fought out with lawsuits, with court decisions, and, dare I say it, maybe even in the streets."

Here, Donohue is calling for Catholics and supporters of religious freedom to join in peaceful protest against the mandate. Similar action (peaceful marches and events) has been taken in New York City, where religious groups have converged to fight a local ban on the use of public schools for worship.

Below, listen to Donohue discuss these issues on Glenn Beck's radio show this morning:

Donohue and church leaders, no doubt, hope to harness the power of the nation's 70 million Catholic voters, to pressure the president to stop what they see as an attack on religious freedom.

Watch the WCBS-TV report to see Donohue's comments and more on this important issue:

As the Blaze reported on Monday, the Catholic Church has pledged to fight the regulation as fervently as needed to ensure it is overturned. Anthony Picarello, general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has called the White House’s information regarding the matter “misleading and wrong.” He went on to say  that the church plans to "pursue every legal mandate available to them to bring an end to this mandate. That means legislation, litigation and public advocacy. All options are on the table."

But liberal Catholics like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley disagree with the church's stance on the mandate and have pledged their public support to the administration. On Sunday, O'Malley said that there is "a little bit too much hyperventilating" over the regulation.

Currently, there are two petitions on the White House web site. One, entitled, "Rescind the HHS Dept. Mandate Requiring Catholic Employers to Provide Contraceptives/Abortifacients to Their Employees," stands opposed to the mandate. As of 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, there were 23,336 signatures (a total of 25,000 will require the federal government to comment on the petition within 30 days). The opposing overture that supports the mandate currently has 9,296 signatures.

While proponents of the regulation continue to come out in support, the angst being created as a result of what many see as an open assault on faith and religion is continuing to intensify.