Fortnight for Freedom!

[ccmcmg]

Tonight, our guest speaker was a speech from our Archbishop, and it was about the Fortnight for Freedom. Have you read about it or decided to pray, or take other action? I ask each of you to do so in this Fortnight. This isn’t just about abortion or contraception coverage requirements. It’s about imposing the government’s ‘religion’ on us.

Even if you are a Catholic or non-Catholic, pro-choice, pro-contraception, or anything, this is something that needs to be considered; forcing churches to compromise their morals and possibly their salvation or go broke; the government is trying to impose their morals on religious groups, especially the Catholic Faith…

If conscientious objectors cannot be forced to go to war due to their beliefs, why cannot organizations who object to the “requirements” of the government that impose on our beliefs?

I ask you to visit the USCCB site for more information.
usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-for-freedom-fact-sheets.cfm

usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-freedom-prayer-resources.cfm

 

[quiet52]

Tonight, our guest speaker was a speech from our Archbishop, and it was about the Fortnight for Freedom. Have you read about it or decided to pray, or take other action? I ask each of you to do so in this Fortnight. This isn’t just about abortion or contraception coverage requirements. It’s about imposing the government’s ‘religion’ on us.

Even if you are a Catholic or non-Catholic, pro-choice, pro-contraception, or anything, this is something that needs to be considered; forcing churches to compromise their morals and possibly their salvation or go broke; the government is trying to impose their morals on religious groups, especially the Catholic Faith…

If conscientious objectors cannot be forced to go to war due to their beliefs, why cannot organizations who object to the “requirements” of the government that impose on our beliefs?

I ask you to visit the USCCB site for more information.
usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-for-freedom-fact-sheets.cfm

usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-freedom-prayer-resources.cfm

Thank you cc for starting this thread.
I am glad you got to hear your bishop speak on this!
I wish every member of the clergy would have a better understanding why freedom of conscience / religious liberty is as important as it is – and to proclaim it.

My diocese isn’t observing the Fortnight for Freedom, sad to say, but I am praying and offfering some days up with sacrifice and fasting.

FORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOM
June 21st to July 4th
“We must stand up for religious freedom”
usccb.org/issues-and-acti…t-for-freedom/

 

[Chatter163]

Our FSSP pastor promoted the Fortnight in his sermon yesterday, and explained that St. John Baptist (whose Nativity we celebrate in today’s solemnity) and Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More are all models and intercessors for the Fortnight. These saints were not executed for promoting religious plurality, but for standing up to tyrants (Herod and Henry VIII, respectively) by telling them that their marriages were contrary to God’s law, i.e., they could not simply redefine marriage to suit their desires.

 

[PTL]

I am so glad to hear some Diocese is promoting Fortnight for Freedom. We need to pray for our Catholic Church and religious freedom everyday. Thank you for starting this post.

 

[Mark121359]

I loved Archbishop William Lori’s homily in the opening Mass Friday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also, seeing my pastor in attendance made me smile! …This is a very crucial moment for all of us. We need to win this battle!

Peace, Mark

 

[3DOCTORS]

Thank you cc for starting this thread.
I am glad you got to hear your bishop speak on this!
I wish every member of the clergy would have a better understanding why freedom of conscience / religious liberty is as important as it is – and to proclaim it.

My diocese isn’t observing the Fortnight for Freedom, sad to say, but I am praying and offering some days up with sacrifice and fasting.

FORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOM
June 21st to July 4th
“We must stand up for religious freedom”
usccb.org/issues-and-acti…t-for-freedom/

That’s sad, every U.S. diocese should be on board with this. But we can do our part.

Thanks OP for starting this thread - let’s encourage one another. The news has often been disheartening. We must not lose the will to fight and we must not lose the fight itself. God bless!

 

[quiet52]

I loved Archbishop William Lori’s homily in the opening Mass Friday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Also, seeing my pastor in attendance made me smile! …This is a very crucial moment for all of us. We need to win this battle!

Peace, Mark

Archbishop Lori’s homily: archbalt.org/about-us/the-archbishop/homilies/fortnight-for-freedom-homily.cfm

excerpts:
The efforts of the government to divide the Church into a worship wing and a service wing do not spring from a theoretical interest in how churches are organized.
It is part of a broader movement to limit religious freedom to freedom of worship - to accord a fuller degree of religious liberty to houses of worship but a lesser degree of religious freedom to charities, hospitals, and universities. If left unchecked, this tendency will continue to diminish the influence of religion in helping to shape the character of our country, not only by our words but above all by the way we conduct our ministries of service.
In the case of the now infamous Health and Human Services mandate, only parishes and institutions mainly dedicated to sharing the faith are fully exempt from having to include in their employee health care plans medications and procedures that are contrary to the Church’s teaching.
Catholic charities, hospitals, and universities are not exempt but accommodated, but we believe that the so-called accommodation is inadequate and will end up implicating our service institutions in providing coverage for medications and procedures contrary to the Faith: like abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and reproductive counseling at odds with the Church’s teaching that extends even to underage family members of Church employees.
Faith and worship inspire and sustain the service the Church offers, yet the government is insinuating a contrary Gospel in the Church’s daily life.

From the USCCB: “We must stand up for religious freedom.”

My question is how do we stand up for it, especially when the clergy in our diocese is not.

 

[LoveMercyGrace]

Thank you for this thread. I just wrote one in another forum here, perhaps I should have done a search first as my questions were addressed here.

My parish is not participating. And I was told this morning it is always something
initiated by the Bishop first.
But there are some parish’s in our Diocese that are doing the Novena’s and following the Fortnight calender.
I do think it is important, so maybe I can offer a prayer up during the appropriate time in morning mass and say a prayer anyways.

Thank those of you who are praying about this

 

[LoveMercyGrace]

These prayers are found on OP’s link to usccb.
For religious liberty:
For our President, Governor, legislators, judges, and all in service to the common good, that
through the gift of heavenly wisdom they may work to uphold religious freedom and
conscience protection for all. Let us pray to the Lord.
For people of faith who fight to preserve religious liberty, may the Lord strengthen their resolve
to hold firm in their witness. Let us pray to the Lord.
For the rights of individuals and institutions to conduct their professional lives according to
their religious convictions. Let us pray to the Lord.

Do you think it would be appropriate to offer one of these during the open prayer offerings
during Mass?

 

[InLight247]

Thank you OP for the USCCB links. I emailed to bunch of my church friends and some priests. I have been praying for our nation. I hope all CAF people will pray for our religious liberty. Religious freedom is important to everyone in the country, and we are swiftly losing it.

 

[Marie5890]

Unfortunately most people do see it as being about contraception and abortion and not religious liberty.

 

[ccmcmg]

My first chance to get online and I love the responses!

I’m very surprised that ALL dioceses aren’t doing this. Are these in the more ‘liberal’ states? The AB said all bishops were in agreement on this, and is indicated on the USCCB, at least to my understanding.

We need to make our points more clear that this isn’t just about gay marriage, abortion and contraception; it’s the government telling us HOW to worship. How long until the Catholic Church is sued/prosecuted (the persecution has already started) because same sex couples cannot get married? Then if we say that they have to be church members, we’ll be sued for not accepting everyone into the church (although we do have members of the faith of every walk of life); there will be people who ‘lie’ their way into the church, and then challenge the marriage requirement.

Perhaps we need to look at gay marriage another way. There are usually two components to a majority of marriages: the civil side, and the religious side. We had to have a marriage license to get married in the Church, issued by the state/county/city <?>; however, you don’t need a religious license to get married civilly. I think it could be coming that the two will be separated; the government will see the religious ceremony as ‘ceremonial’ and non-binding if it isn’t government sanctioned. Many states are not allowing Catholic Charities to do adoption placement anymore, because they won’t let same sex ‘couples’ adopt. I’m sure they will however still accept our charity to feed and clothe the poor, no matter who it is…that is, until those charities go out of business rather than compromise their most important belief: Catholicism.

Contraception/abortion coverage; how long until it becomes more than ‘coverage’? China has their government in their bedrooms already; how would we like that? I have often wondered how much access employers/owners had to access health records; this more easily simplifies the government’s access, and I can assure you, that not all health records are accurate, and are sometimes biased based on the attending nurse/physician. Suppose you were having a huge fight with your spouse, and your blood pressure was high; that could be in your records if your doctor didn’t know that, and when it comes to a death panel…well, ‘only the strong will survive’. I seem to remember a man, a dictator, that tried to do that, letting only the strong survive; the rest were executed by the thousands. I told my doctor that I did something once or twice (nothing that would hurt me long term, or really, even short term; not illegal or immoral) when I was a teen, then never again. Each time he saw me, including EVERY MONTH while I was pregnant, he asked if I had stopped XXXX yet. It was in the notes, and no matter how many times I told him I didn’t do that, and it was twice many many years before, he had written it in my permanent record.

I’m not wearing a tin foil hat, although that might be coming in handy very soon, especially with recent developments on spying on US private citizens electronically or via drones.

Please contact your reps…state, local and federal.

 

[ccmcmg]

Unfortunately most people do see it as being about contraception and abortion and not religious liberty.

Then we need to work to educate the public, which is quite difficult if the media won’t give out the truth and the objections we as Catholics have to this.

Part of our AB’s speech said that the government claims that “most” Catholics support pro-choice and contraception. However, the Church as a whole does not, and should not be forced to provide these. Suppose the government came up with the belief that we all should be one color, in the interest of unity? Dye yourself a color, or be jailed. Hmmmm, sounds familiar. Already, one of the most influential states in the nation is regulating how and what people eat and buy.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Catholic.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

 

[LoveMercyGrace]

Archbishop Lori’s homily: archbalt.org/about-us/the-archbishop/homilies/fortnight-for-freedom-homily.cfm

From the USCCB: “We must stand up for religious freedom.”

My question is how do we stand up for it, especially when the clergy in our diocese is not.

In another post on this thread I wrote…**is it ok to just offer the prayers during that time of Mass which are listed on the USCCB website? ** People offer prayers for many things
and I wonder if our parish/diocese is not supporting the Fortnight, would this be a way to
still offer the prayers during each Mass ?

 

[ccmcmg]

In another post on this thread I wrote…**is it ok to just offer the prayers during that time of Mass which are listed on the USCCB website? ** People offer prayers for many things
and I wonder if our parish/diocese is not supporting the Fortnight, would this be a way to
still offer the prayers during each Mass ?

Do you mean privately or from the ambo?

I would say definitely privately, such as before or after Mass, during petitions, etc.

 

[LoveMercyGrace]

Do you mean privately or from the ambo?

I would say definitely privately, such as before or after Mass, during petitions, etc.

During Mass, the priest states those who we pray for. Usually beginning with a person, then maybe the Pope, clergy, vocations etc. He then asks for others to offer up prayers. And
people will state their prayer request, maybe for someone who is ill or for conversions in general. this is varied and seems to depend on each person requesting. Is this the petitions you mention?
So I wonder if it would be appropriate for me to ask for this prayer:

For the rights of individuals and institutions to conduct their professional lives according to their religious convictions. Let us pray to the Lord.

Thank you~

 

[quiet52]

In another post on this thread I wrote…**is it ok to just offer the prayers during that time of Mass which are listed on the USCCB website? ** People offer prayers for many things
and I wonder if our parish/diocese is not supporting the Fortnight, would this be a way to
still offer the prayers during each Mass ?

Go for it – it’s absolutely okay. But the pastor or his delegate has the final say as to which petitions are included in the Prayers of the Faithful. I hope you can convince him.

 

[quiet52]

…I’m very surprised that ALL dioceses aren’t doing this. Are these in the more ‘liberal’ states? The AB said all bishops were in agreement on this, and is indicated on the USCCB, at least to my understanding.

…Please contact your reps…state, local and federal.

My state is very liberal. When Michael Voris talks about the “Church of Nice” (which alludes to the clergy not wanting to offend Catholics by addressing the so-called touchy faith topics) – I think he must be describing my diocese.

As for what your archbishop stated, that is wishful thinking on his part, as far as I’m concerned.

My reps on both levels are Democrats, pro-abortion, pro-gay “marriage”, anti-religious liberty, all the way. They seem to be proud of their stands.

 

[PTL]

During Mass, the priest states those who we pray for. Usually beginning with a person, then maybe the Pope, clergy, vocations etc. He then asks for others to offer up prayers. And
people will state their prayer request, maybe for someone who is ill or for conversions in general. this is varied and seems to depend on each person requesting. Is this the petitions you mention?
So I wonder if it would be appropriate for me to ask for this prayer:

For the rights of individuals and institutions to conduct their professional lives according to their religious convictions. Let us pray to the Lord.

Thank you~

You mean your priest allows spontaneous prayer and the congregation can pray out loud, correct?

Yes,

For the rights of individuals and institutions to conduct their professional lives according to their religious convictions. Let us pray to the Lord.

surely you can pray that.

 

[Domini_cane]

I agree. I am looking for ways to take action, is there a novena that I should pray for the fortnight.