In 2012, the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty issued the statement Our First, Most Cherished Liberty, expressing grave concerns about increasing attacks against religious liberty at home and abroad. One of these attacks is the Obama Administration’s HHS contraception/abortifacient/sterilization mandate, but there are many other threats to religious liberty as well.
In this statement, the Ad Hoc Committee also announced the first Fortnight for Freedom designed to raise awareness of the serious threats to religious freedom and to call Catholics to fourteen days of prayer, education and action for religious freedom in the United States and abroad. The Bishops are calling us to a fourth Fortnight for Freedom this year from June 21 to July 4.
The timeframe of the Fortnight was chosen because it corresponds with the liturgical celebrations of the great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power, including St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of Rome.
The theme of this year’s Fortnight is “Freedom to Bear Witness” and according to Archbishop William Lori, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, “Keeping the spirit of the Gospel means that Catholic institutions are to bear witness in love to the full truth about the human person by providing social, charitable, and educational services in a manner that fully reflects the God-given dignity of the human person.”
This freedom to bear witness is in grave jeopardy by the Obama Administration and other forces that think that the First Amendment grants freedom to worship (not freedom of religion) as long as it stays within the four walls of our churches. Given the substantial contributions that the Catholic Church (and others) makes to the well-being of society (e.g. social services, education, charitable and spiritual works) one would think that the government would want to encourage such activity, not squelch it.
Nonetheless, in addition to the HHS contraception/sterilization mandate, there is a growing range of religious freedom issues in so many areas of law, such as marriage, immigration, adoption, and disaster relief, both here and abroad.
Of greatest concern are the increasing threats to the religious freedom of those who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. In the midst of this year’s Fortnight (June 29 or 30), the Supreme Court will likely be issuing its ruling on so-called same-sex “marriage” which could lead to profound violations of religious liberty.
The Fortnight is an important opportunity for raising awareness about these serious threats and establishing and maintaining a new movement for religious freedom.
Many excellent prayer and educational materials for celebrating the Fortnight are available (in English and Spanish) online at www.necatholic.org and www.fortnight4freedom.org. The prayer resources include a litany for liberty, a template for a holy hour, prayers of the faithful, and a prayer for the protection of religious liberty (available on three beautiful prayer cards).
The educational materials include several fact sheets explaining various domestic and international threats to religious liberty, and an excellent document providing compelling answers to frequently asked questions about religious liberty.
There are also daily reflections and readings taken from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) along with questions that can be used for group discussion or personal reflection. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Dignitatis Humanae.
Fourteen additional suggestions for celebrating the Fortnight in your parish are available at www.necatholic.org and include: 1) celebrating a memorial Mass for SS. Thomas More and John Fisher on June 21 (vigil) or June 22 (their feast day) to open the Fortnight for Freedom; 2) sponsoring a movie night showing a relevant movie such as A Man for All Seasons, For Greater Glory, First Freedom: The Fight for Religious Liberty, or Becket; 3) praying the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty at the end of daily Mass.
Finally, the Bishops urge us to stay up-to-date on current religious freedom issues by signing up for text messages from the USCCB. It’s easy. Just text the word “FREEDOM” to 377377. For those who prefer e-mail alerts, click on the “Take Action” link at www.fortnight4freedom.org.
