Fortnight for Freedom
American Catholics must resist unjust laws ‘‘as a duty of citizenship and an obligation of faith,’’ a committee of the U.S. bishops said in a statement on religious liberty.
Titled ‘‘Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,’’ the statement by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty also calls for ‘‘a fortnight for freedom’’ from June 21, the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, to July 4, U.S. Independence Day.
‘‘This special period of prayer, study, catechesis and public action would emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty,’’ the committee said. ‘‘Dioceses and parishes around the country could choose a date in that period for special events that would constitute a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.’’
The document, published in the May issue of Vermont Catholic magazine, was approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee during its spring meeting.
The ad hoc committee opened its statement with several ‘‘concrete examples’’ of recent threats to religious liberty, saying that ‘‘this is not a theological or legal dispute without real-world consequences.’’
Cited first was the Department of Health and Human Services’ mandate that most health plans must include contraception, sterilization and some abortion-inducing drugs free of charge, even if the employer is morally opposed to such services.
‘‘In an unprecedented way, the federal government will both force
