WASHINGTON —The U.S. bishops' second annual Fortnight for Freedom — a period of prayer and fasting to raise awareness of challenges to religious liberty, both nationally and internationally — is planned for June 21 to July 4.
The observance kicks off with Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore celebrating an evening Mass June 21 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baltimore. It will conclude with a noon Mass July 4 to be celebrated by Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the nation's capital.
The website www.Fortnight4Freedom.org has details of fortnight events and suggested activities for parishes and families, as well as fact sheets, educational resources and suggested prayers for the observance.
The site includes a study guide on the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom, "Dignitatis Humanae," and quotes about religious freedom from the nation's Founding Fathers and the writings of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
Parishes throughout the Diocese of Providence earnestly responded to the U.S. bishops’ call to prayer and action last year. A rally along the busy roadway in front at St. Martha Parish in East Providence capped off Fortnight events and in South County, St. Thomas More Parish in Narragansett sponsored talks discussing the importance of maintaining religious liberty. The featured diocesan event was a prayer breakfast at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence. The local event was one of the first of many Masses and educational events to be held in dioceses across the country. Speaking to more than 400 faithful during the Mass Bishop Thomas J. Tobin told those gathered that Fortnight for Freedom was created to defend religious freedom – “a right that belongs to every human being” and “a right bestowed on us by almighty God.”
Bishop Tobin shared that the faithful must continue to take charge and defend religious liberty with guidance from church pastors.
“This is your work, your mission,” Bishop Tobin told those gathered, expressing the great need for an engaged, well-informed Catholic laity to protect its fundamental freedoms.
This year’s Fortnight for Freedom will address many current challenges to religious liberty, including the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate; Supreme Court rulings that could redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.
Archbishop Lori, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, noted the fortnight occurs just weeks before Aug. 1, the date final rules take effect for implementing the federal contraceptive mandate, requiring most employers to provide contraceptive coverage for employees.
The Catholic Church and other faith groups object to the requirement "coercing us to violate our deeply held beliefs," the archbishop said in a statement.
During the fortnight, the Supreme Court's decisions on the definition of marriage "will likely be handed down as well," he added, referring to rulings the court is expected to issue in late June on two same-sex marriage cases. One is a challenge to the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a voter-approved initiative banning same-sex marriage, and the other is a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
"Those decisions could have a profound impact on religious freedom for generations to come," Archbishop Lori said.
Assistant Editor Laura Kilgus contributed to this story.
Current threats to Religious Liberty
HHS contraception mandate
The mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services forces religious institutions to facilitate and fund a product contrary to their own moral teaching.
Catholic foster care and adoption services
Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and the State of Illinois have driven local Catholic Charities out of the business of providing adoption or foster care services—by revoking their licenses, by ending their government contracts, or both—because those Charities refused to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried opposite-sex couples who cohabit.
State immigration laws
Several states have recently passed laws that forbid what they deem as “harboring” of undocumented immigrants—and what the Church deems Christian charity and pastoral care to these immigrants.
Discrimination against small church congregations
New York City adopted a policy that barred the Bronx Household of Faith and other churches from renting public schools on weekends for worship services, even though non-religious groups could rent the same schools for many other uses. Litigation in this case continues.
Discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services
After years of excellent performance by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) in administering contract services for victims of human trafficking, the federal government changed its contract specifications to require MRS to provide or refer for contraceptive and abortion services in violation of Catholic teaching.
Christian students
In its over-100-year history, the University of California Hastings College of Law has denied student organization status to only one group, the Christian Legal Society, because it required its leaders to be Christian and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage.
Forcing religious groups to host same-sex “marriage” or civil union ceremonies
A New Jersey judge recently found that a Methodist ministry violated state law when the ministry declined to allow two women to hold a “civil union” ceremony on its private property. Further, a civil rights complaint has been filed against the Catholic Church in Hawaii by a person requesting to use a chapel to hold a same-sex “marriage” ceremony.
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
