RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEKLY
In 1976, our bicentennial year, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, then the Polish archbishop of Krakow and soon to be named Pope John Paul II, visited Philadelphia for the 41st International Eucharistic Congress. These stunning and enigmatic remarks are from Cardinal Wojtyla’s last speech before leaving America:
“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence; it is trial which the whole Church, and the Polish Church in particular, must take up. It is a trial of not only our nation and the Church, but, in a sense, a test of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.”
Each day, and strikingly during our recent election seasons, we see this test of our culture and of Christian civilization as it is threatened by chaos and evil.
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Will Americans make the choice to protect life at all stages?
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Will Americans turn increasingly from the Biblical truth of Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”?
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Will we choose to recognize that parents are the rightful teachers, nurturing their children’s faith and practices and stewarding their education?
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Will our citizens insist on respect for the person and property of others as is commanded in our Judeo-Christian ethos…thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal…thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife…thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods?
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Will Americans respect the truth, a respect fundamental to human civilization...thou shalt not bear false witness?
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Will Americans strive to afford each citizen the right to follow his own conscience as intended with the establishment of religious freedom as this nation’s First Freedom?
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Will Americans sacrifice to preserve the Constitution, seen as a providential miracle by those who painstakingly and bravely constructed it with intelligence, passion, goodwill and faith?
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Will we convey the liberties of our Constitutional Republic to ages and millions yet unborn?
Con’t: https://tinyurl.com/5vy2vhwf https://tinyurl.com/y5966eyb https://tinyurl.com/4jt2yypu
By: Fr. George W. Rutler
“Our faith is based, not on abstract speculation, but on historical events. The Church’s feasts are acts of thanksgiving for actions of God that have affected the course of human existence. On October 7, the Church celebrates the victory of Christian naval vessels over those of the Ottoman Muslims who outnumbered the Christians by more than two to one, and whose ships were manned by upwards of fifteen thousand Christian galley slaves.
“The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 was the greatest naval engagement until the Battle of Jutland in World War I, but it is not commemorated just as a lesson in the art of maritime war. The core of the feast is that it saved Christian civilization. Compared to it, July 4 and Waterloo and Gettysburg and D-Day are ancillary struggles to preserve what would not exist at all, had it not been for 1571.
“We revere the “Star Spangled Banner” whose broad stripes and bright stars gallantly streamed in 1814, but quite more remarkable was the banner held by Gianandrea Doria, great-nephew of the Admiral Andrea Doria, at Lepanto. It bore the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It has been preserved in the cathedral of Genoa.
“Had the battle ended differently, Sultan Selim could have fulfilled his vow to conquer Rome, turning the basilica of Saint Peter into a mosque, despoiling and upending its bells so that they might be filled with oil and burned in honor of Allah, as had been done in 997 at the tomb of Saint James in Compostela.
“We would not be here – nor would our holy religion, our universities, our science, our democracy, our enfranchised women, our justice, our social tolerance, and our entire moral fabric – were it not for Lepanto. The feast of its victory was instituted by Pope St. Pius V and, after the final defeat of the Ottomans in 1716 at Timișoara in present-day Romania… Pope Clement XI made it a universal feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“Given the terrors of our present times, it would be well to pray the Rosary on October 7.”
Author: Fr. George W. Rutler, Pastor; Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael, NYC, October 2, 2016
October was designated as the month of the rosary by Pope Leo XIII in 1884 when he asked the entire church to pray the rosary daily.
Pray the “Rosary for America” with us anytime at www.cffor.org
“At this stage of history, the liberating message of the Gospel of Life has been put into your hands. And the mission of proclaiming it to the ends of the earth is now passing to your generation. Like the great Apostle Paul, you too must feel the full urgency of the task: "Woe to me if I do not evangelize" (1Cor 9,16). Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life.” -Pope Saint John Paul II, Aug. 15, 1993 Denver, CO; World Youth Day
In Nov., 2023 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved by an overwhelming majority of 225-11 to again include the threat of abortion as a pre-eminent priority in their guide for Catholics, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The Bishops state that because abortion affects the most vulnerable among us and is responsible for a million deaths of unborn children here in the United States every year, it is an intrinsic evil and must, along with euthanasia, always be opposed.
The choice to support life is more difficult when there is no candidate who perfectly protects unborn life in every situation. Specific commentary on this issue is available referring to the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (73) as he expands on St. Thomas Aquinas’ principle in Summa Theologiae along with teaching from Jesuit moralist Father Henry Davis as referred to in the National Catholic Register’s article: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/is-there-a-lesser-of-two-evils
The USCCB also points out the importance of Catholic support for Freedom of Religion, which has come under great pressure here in the United States in spite of strong Constitutional support for the freedom to choose one’s religious beliefs and to practice those beliefs openly and without reprisal.
Too many Americans allow their religious practice to be marginalized because of repeated and strident propaganda which has been accepted as truth. Most harmful of the propaganda is the ongoing, deliberate deception that the phrase “separation of church and state” is part of the Constitution and forbids any meaningful public reference to God or morals. This lie perpetuated in our media, schools and universities, is pervasive and unchallenged. In fact, Pres. Thomas Jefferson penned the phrase in support of individual freedom of conscience and cited the First Amendment as protecting churches and individual conscience from government interference “thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/kakz7h7m https://tinyurl.com/3sh7x84x https://tinyurl.com/396j3cjb https://tinyurl.com/3ju322r9
Constitution of the United States: The Preamble
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Since 2005 our nation has celebrated Constitution Day each Sept. 17 which marks the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Each school receiving federal funds is directed by the Department of Education to provide a lesson about the United States Constitution on Sept. 17. Some schools have a Constitution Week with many events, lessons and assemblies focused on our Constitution.
As American citizens experiencing an intense and divisive election season, we would benefit from grounding ourselves in the framework of our nation by reading and considering each word of the preamble to our Constitution. We are the beneficiaries of the first and only documents adopted by a whole nation declaring themselves to be capable of and deserving of self-government.
The grounding of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the rule of law of our nation in rights from our creator and in the Judeo-Christian ethic, is unique in history and has for almost 250 years guided us as citizens. We have come together in spite of differing opinions or methodology to preserve a Republic where First Amendment freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to peaceably assemble and freedom to petition our government for redress of grievances have been the foundation of liberty…al liberty so protected and so beneficent as to make make our country the envy of the world.
During his 2008 visit to the White House, Pope Benedict directed us, “ From the dawn of the Republic, America’s quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God, the Creator.” Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility… The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one’s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.”
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/2pcdhymb https://tinyurl.com/4sa4uamt https://tinyurl.com/3h4pksh4
When the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was proposed in Congress, the Bishops of the United States supported the original provisions and intent of the act. The act was proposed to insure that pregnant women were accommodated in the workplace as needed for their health and comfort during pregnancy and after childbirth. Included possible accommodations for pregnant workers were longer work breaks, providing a stool for support while working, more frequent opportunity for beverages and food, temporary modification of work requirements that might be overly strenuous or tiring, more frequent bathroom breaks and accommodation for physician appointments.
The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) approved and encouraged the originally proposed legislation as being pro-woman as well as child and family friendly. However, the final text of the bill included treatment and time off for pregnancy related conditions but also for abortion. The Bishops object, as do many other pro-freedom of conscience parties, because the Act would force employers, even religious employers, to be complicit in abortion against their conscience rights.
In August, 2024, Bishop Michael F. Burbridge, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities said that enabling abortion would be a complete distortion of this legislation which received bi-partisan support because it did not include abortion.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/5abfv8ah https://tinyurl.com/4jtm9xr4https://tinyurl.com/32yffcj5
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Critical to the practice of every faith is the 1st amendment freedom of speech: the freedom to pray alone or in groups, to discuss and evangelize religious beliefs, and to speak those beliefs openly at home, in school and in the vast public square of ideas and national policies. Speech has been defined by Supreme Court decisions to include more than the spoken word and to cover actions such as burning the flag and the artistic products of web designers.
For example, In the case of 303 Creative v. Elenis, the Supreme Court’s Opinion was that speech, in the form of designing a unique, creative and specific website celebrating behavior in opposition to the artist’s personal beliefs, could not be forced by the state because it violated the designer’s freedom of speech.
This right to be able to say what one believes to be true and the right not to be forced to say or confirm the opposite is basic to our political and social life in America. The USCCB has resources to help Catholics as we navigate these social pressures while holding to the truth of our faith. For information and guidance, go to the USCCB site at: www.lovemeansmore.org
Another resource, the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, explains that: “The human person, body and soul, man or woman, has a fundamental order and finality whose integrity must be respected. Because of this order and finality, neither patients nor physicians nor researchers nor any other persons have unlimited rights over the body; they must respect the order and finality inscribed in the embodied person.”
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4cc8t8nz
Another problematic issue pointed out in the Jan. 16, 2024 Bishops’ report, “State of Religious Liberty in the United States, is the criticism of and actual proposed governmental restrictions on the working of Catholic charities in aiding immigrants.
From OSV News, Jan. 16, 2024. Kate Scanlon:
“The Church’s mission, you know, is we’re to serve, serve the poor and the needy. That’s part of our mission to the corporal works of mercy, so welcoming the stranger,” Bishop Rhoades said, an act of mercy demanded by Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 when he renders justice at the final judgment. “And we’re talking here about basic needs: sometimes food, sometimes shelter, clothing and other kinds of assistance. The Church has always done this and it’s just part of our Christian responsibilities.”
Bishop Rhoades said some have suggested that “somehow the Church is contributing to illegal immigration” through such service.
“Comprehensive immigration reform is something that the Catholic Church in the United States has been advocating for for decades,” he added. He said “our provision of humanitarian aid to human beings who are in need” is needed regardless of whether and how Congress would act.”
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4xyrkamf www.cffor.org https://tinyurl.com/5dwccjn9
As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Doctors Could Be Required to Perform Transgender Surgeries and Abortions Warns Bishops’ Report on the “State of Religious Liberty in the United States.”
The conscience protection of the First Amendment has largely secured the rights of doctors and nurses to follow their conscience in spite of many challenges to that freedom. However, the Bishops of the United States point out in their report, “State of Religious Liberty in the United States” that First Amendment protections will be threatened if the so-called Equality Act is passed by Congress. The Equality Act, first passed by the House in 2021 and stalled in the Senate ever since, redefines “sex”, as used in various federal civil rights laws, into the new gender ideology which conflicts with the Biblical and Catholic Catechism teachings that God created us man and woman. The Bishops warn that, among other governmental compulsions, all medical personnel could be required to recommend and perform transgender surgeries for children and to perform abortions.
usccb.org/equality-act: “The Equality Act: exempts itself from the bipartisan Religious Freedom Restoration Act, in an explicit and unprecedented departure from one of America’s founding principles, thereby infringing on religious freedom and making it more difficult for individuals to live out their faith.” [Further, the Act]
· “forces religiously operated spaces and establishments, such as church halls, to either host functions that violate their beliefs or close their doors to their communities
· requires [biological] women [and girls] to compete against [biological] men and boys in sports, and to share locker rooms and shower facilities.
· forces faith-based charities that serve all people to violate their religious beliefs [or be shut down, thereby] threatening the welfare of thousands of beneficiaries of charitable services such as shelters and foster care agencies.
· jeopardizes existing prohibitions on the use of federal taxpayer funds for abortion, likely pressuring or even mandating the performance of abortions by health care providers in violation of their consciences, and ultimately ending more human lives
· hinders quality health care, by forcing health care professionals, against their best medical judgment, to support treatments and procedures associated with “gender transition.”
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/mr25crjf https://tinyurl.com/mrxt6we6 https://tinyurl.com/yzpjamhv
The physical safety of all Americans in their chosen house of worship is a concern pointed out in the Bishops’ report on religious liberty. In the U.S. over 340 instances of arson and vandalism have damaged Catholic churches, shrines, statues and monuments since 2020.
After the Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v Wade as having no foundation in our Federal Constitution and determined that it was the right of each state to decide abortion issues, attacks on Catholic churches and pro-life centers increased significantly.
The Bishops’ report noted that increasing antisemitic and and anti-Muslim biases could result in attacks on mosques and temples. The Bishops’ report was released in Jan. 2024, after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and before some of the most violent and extreme demonstrations against Israel and Jews across America. The encampments and the disruptions of campuses and the barring of Jewish students from attending classes validates the safety concerns present even before Oct. 7.
Other issues brought out in the report include federal agencies twisting laws to encourage abortions when the law was intended to help pregnant women, the failure of federal agencies to find and prosecute those attacking churches and the FBI’s covert investigation of Catholics who attend the Traditional Latin Mass.
Our Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to preserve these rights, Governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
We citizens have instituted local, state and federal governments with the authority and the corresponding responsibility to preserve and protect Americans’ rights as put forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The First Amendment protects religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press, the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. As Catholics and citizens, we expect our government to preserve our rights. When the government fails in its designated responsibilities, we are obliged to correct that malfeasance by our prayers , our voices and our choice of leaders.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/2aejsb4w https://tinyurl.com/4t46ntrw https://tinyurl.com/5dwccjn9
On Jan 16, 2024, our annual Religious Freedom Day, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published the first annual report on the “State of Religious Liberty in the United States.” The research and preparation of the report was done by the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, chaired by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN.
The report reminds us that religious freedom/the right of conscience is often called our First Freedom because of its importance as the basis for all of our liberties as stated in our Declaration of Independence. “We are endowed by our creator” with inalienable rights and our founders believed these rights “among them, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were not the gift of any earthly ruler but were self-evident rights from our creator. (Declaration of Independence)
Our founders did not create a Christian nation, but a nation founded on the Judeo-Christian ethic grounded in the Ten Commandments. Having experienced government dictated religion in their mother countries and by studying the long history of such mandated beliefs, our founders knew the inevitable tyranny that always followed. They knew a plurality of religions would encourage tolerance and understanding among sects and prevent persecution.
Americans of all faiths or of none are blessed to have the founding documents which clearly protect the rights to believe and practice one’s own conscience. Catholics, the Bishops assert, have a vital role in preserving religious freedom and providing for the common good.
In upcoming articles, we will discuss the five main concerns explained in the report and relate the concerns to the cultural and regulatory pressures threatening religious freedom. If we don’t understand our religious freedom and recognize the direct and indirect threats, we may inadvertently damage or lose that liberty which is the rightful inheritance of generations to come.
Richard Henry Lee, founder and signer of the Declaration of Independence explained: "It is true, we are not disposed to differ much, at present, about religion; but when we are making a constitution, it is to be hoped, for ages and millions yet unborn, why not establish the free exercise of religion, as a part of the national compact."
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/mrxchedp https://tinyurl.com/2aejsb4w https://tinyurl.com/mujk3t8d
The Ten Commandments Must be Displayed in Every Louisiana Public School per the Louisiana Legislature & Governor
The constant misrepresentation of Jefferson’s intent to protect individual conscience and religious practices from interference by the state in his phrase “Wall of Separation of Church and State” has resulted in Americans denying religious freedom to themselves and others.
The anticipated legal challenges are rolling in and are aimed at preventing the legislated display of a poster of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms in Louisiana. A poster or document at least 11 by 14 inches and listing the Ten Commandments and paid for by donations, not public funds, is legislated to be displayed in every classroom by Jan. 1, 2024.
The display of the Ten Commandments was chosen by Louisiana legislators because it is the moral foundation for their laws and therefore has great historical significance. The lawsuit against the display of the Ten Commandments alleges that it violates the first amendment‘s establishment clause and free exercise clause.
Supreme court rulings have varied in their treatment of First Amendment issues and challenges, and we can expect long and complex litigation over this Louisiana law, likely going to higher courts.
As Americans and Catholics, we can best protect and practice religious freedom if we know a few basic facts:
- The phrase “wall of separation between church and state” was written by Pres. Thomas Jefferson in a letter assuring the Danbury Baptists that the state had no power to determine the beliefs and practices of its citizens. That phrase is not in the Constitution.
- America’s public schools are not God-free zones.” Students’ rights to live their faith openly throughout their school day are protected by the Constitution and court decisions and are specifically described by the federal government in the U.S Dept. of Education’s Guidance on On Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools which is linked below.
- The phrase Freedom of Worship is often used by those wanting to confine religious faith and practice within the four walls of our churches. The phrase Freedom of Religion reflects the intention of our founders and the First Amendment that the open, public practice and evangelization of faith is the right of each citizen.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/528xbzcy https://tinyurl.com/4jj5njhd https://tinyurl.com/4znwvk26
July 17 to 21 Eucharistic Congress, Indianapolis, IN
5 Days of Inspiration, Guidance, Adoration and Spiritual Revival
“The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights.” -George Washington
Five Days of Inspiration, Guidance, Adoration and Spiritual Revival
Followed by: The culmination of the three year Eucharistic Revival - The Year of Mission
Per Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Bishop of Crookston and Chairman of the National Eucharistic Revival we are reminded of the mission of the Eucharistic Revival, “ to form Catholics to live out their Eucharistic encounters with Jesus and send them as credible witnesses to the joy of the Gospel; to encourage centers of mission (parishes, dioceses, religious communities, apostolates, etc.) to continue providing opportunities for encounter that lead to a deeper Eucharistic identity and sustain a Eucharistic life.”
The vision for this Eucharistic Revival being, “ To raise up a company of Catholics from across the country who have been healed, converted, formed, unified and sent out on Eucharistic mission for the life of the world.”
Read more and download the Year of Mission Playbook: July 2024-June, 2025
The United States’ freedom of religion, much broader than a mere freedom to worship within the four walls of our churches, protects our rights to participate fully in all the events of the Eucharistic Processions and Eucharistic Congress. It also protects our rights to continue in the Eucharistic Mission to publicly reflect our beliefs in our own lives and to evangelize openly in word and deed inviting others to enter into the fullness of a deep Eucharistic life.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry - Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution
The Eucharistic Processions make daily progress from the four corners of our nation toward the July 17-21 Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Catholics across America are online to follow their progress, and join in the excitement and prayers from their home parishes.
The Congress in Indianapolis is expected to attract 50,000 attendees for five days of learning, fellowship, prayer and revival.
This public statement of our Catholic faith through the practice of Eucharistic reverence exemplifies the heart of the religious freedom that our nation’s founders enshrined in the First Amendment. The procession is a public expression of beliefs and conscience, which the founders knew were essential to a moral and religious people – the only people capable of maintaining the extensive personal freedoms of their new government.
And so it comes to each American, of any faith or of none, to protect the basis for all our liberties – the belief that our inalienable rights come from our Creator, not from government.
In our own parishes we can come together to learn the facts of religious freedom, pray for God to protect that right, and act publicly to maintain the exercise of our faith. Public rosaries are effective, powerful demonstrations of our Catholic faith.
Looking Forward to July 4, 2026: In Two Years America Will Mark the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Will our nation’s religious liberty be recognizable two years from now? Or will we face more violent attacks on churches and pro-life clinics, continuation of the FBI admitted surveillance of Catholics, imprisonment of peaceful pro-life demonstrators, the exclusion of religious based charities from government contracts and forced cooperation of medical personnel in transgender surgeries and abortions.
We find ourselves at a decisive time in the history of our country. The founding principles of self-evident rights from our creator and the assertion that all men are created equal are under relentless attack usually under the guise of a twisted “fairness” garnering power and wealth to the perpetrators. The religious freedom rights which protect churches from interference by the state have been broached by what our government has done to label, marginalize and to prosecute people of many faiths, especially Catholics. The right of each American to follow their conscience in their worship has been assaulted by lack of punishment for vicious verbal and physical attacks on Jewish Americans.
As Americans and Catholics each of us has the right to live our chosen faith free from government interference. Along with that God-given right comes the responsibility to preserve that right for ages and millions yet unborn.
In 1788 Founder Rev. Samuel Langdon said, "Preserve your government with the utmost attention and solicitude, for it is the remarkable gift of heaven. From year to year be careful in the choice of your representatives and all the higher powers of government. If the legislative body are corrupt, you will soon have bad men for counselors, corrupt judges, unqualified justices and officers in every department who will dishonor their stations.”
Learn about Religious Freedom and its denials: https://tinyurl.com/2hycc2fe https://tinyurl.com/4mb2srrw https://tinyurl.com/3tj2npaa https://tinyurl.com/2va6h8n7
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Thank God for Religious Freedom on This Independence Day July 4, 2024
When the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, by the 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress, the design was begun for this exceptional nation, the United States of America, which would be unlike any in the history of mankind.
These founders declared that the American colonies had the right from Nature and Nature’s God to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They stated that a separation from England was necessary and justified as evidenced by their listing of 27 abuses and usurpations of the rights of the colonists. This document was the first ever where a whole people declared themselves as the instruments, the designers, of their own government.
On behalf of the colonists they represented, these delegates asserted that governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers not from a king or emperor or dictatorial power, but from the consent of the governed.
Chief among the rights inherent to each of us, our founders held that religious freedom was the first and the foundational freedom. The right to believe as we choose, free from government dictates, along with the right to exercise or live our faith openly without persecution or prejudice was the standard which the laws of this new nation could not compromise.
Thomas Jefferson wrote: “But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God.'
So that First Amendment Religious Freedom may be practiced and preserved for every generation, it is essential that Americans understand this freedom and the circumstances from which it came. From different faiths we must stand unified to support each other, recognizing and respecting doctrinal differences while upholding our common religious liberty.
Catholics for Freedom of Religion strives to educate about our Freedom of Religion…how rare it is, how dearly it was purchased for us and how quickly it can be lost. Visit www.cffor.org
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/5fu8vxv6 https://tinyurl.com/42a4a74v https://tinyurl.com/mvrratb9
Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, the Patroness of our country, we ask that our voices be heard in this prayer for protection of religious liberty:
O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Religious Freedom Week in the Catholic Church is June 22-29
As Declared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Our bishops urge all Catholics to pray, reflect and act to strengthen and preserve America’s unique religious freedom. Our founders and generations of Americans supported and fought for each American’s right to choose their faith and to exercise that faith freely and openly.
During Religious Freedom Week the bishops ask us to pray for:
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Safety in the sacred spaces where Americans gather to worship
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Those persecuted by unjust blasphemy laws
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Courage from the Holy Spirit to witness the truth of the Gospel in the face of social and legal pressure
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The freedom to help migrants and refugees
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Christians in India who face harassment and violence
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Business leaders to provide a culture of life in their workspaces
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The grace to act with respect for the dignity of each person
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Protection of conscience rights for Catholic health care providers and hospitals
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/37ndm6tf https://tinyurl.com/2entnmwz
7,000 Catholics in St. Paul, MN walked 4.5 miles on May 27 in a joyous, prayerful Eucharistic procession. Bishops along with 150 priests, first communicants, seminarians, parish groups and families of many ethnicities, ages and number filled the wide boulevard for blocks as they moved with prayer and singing along the route. This public exercise of faith was part of the ongoing National Eucharistic Pilgrimage which includes processions large and small along four different nation-wide routes leading to Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress July 10-12.
Americans of every faith are protected by the 1st Amendment of our Bill of Rights to believe as their conscience dictates and to freely exercise that faith. In spite of the Constitutional assurance of religious freedom, in the past four years there have been 421 attacks on Catholic churches in the United States. Churches in 42 states have been damaged or destroyed by arson, had statues defiled and smashed, windows broken, and exteriors sprayed with graffiti. Sometimes there have been disruptions of ongoing Masses in Catholic churches. Only around 25% of these attacks have resulted in even one arrest.
As the four Eucharistic procession pilgrims travel to Indianapolis, we can follow their progress and pray for their safety. Also, we can renew in each parish our understanding of the meaning and importance of the Eucharist in the lives of each of us and our shared life in the Catholic Church.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/mryfkyrd https://tinyurl.com/2m7nbct4 https://tinyurl.com/bde79364
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
From North, South, East and West the Eucharistic Processions Have Begun…
America’s 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights of our Constitution affirms to all Americans of all faiths the right to believe according to their conscience and to live those beliefs openly and freely from church and home to community and country.
President Thomas Jefferson made it clear that the state had no place in determining any citizen’s conscientious beliefs nor the practice of his chosen faith. Jefferson clarified in his letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, that the matter of religious beliefs and practices is only between each man and his God. He asserted that 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion places a wall of separation between church and state to prevent government intrusion.
The current three-year Eucharistic Revival to inspire, educate and unite Catholics about the wonders of the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist was initiated by the United States Bishops on June 19, 2022, Corpus Christi Sunday. The revival includes worship inside our churches and cathedrals as well as Eucharistic processions in local communities, a Eucharistic Congress and a year of Mission. Starting on May 17, over 100,000 Catholics have begun four very public processions encompassing much of our Nation and arriving in Indianapolis in July for the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years.
This very open and public expression of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist would be forbidden in many countries across our world where religious freedom does not exist. As we participate locally and nationally in these three years of Eucharistic Revival, let us include prayers of thanksgiving for America’s religious freedom.
It is up to each generation to guard our religious freedom for ages and millions yet unborn.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yc3aef2e
Follow the four processions of the Marian Route (North),
the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route (East), the St. Juan Diego Route (South),
the St. Junipero Serra Route (West) Follow at: Eucharisticrevival.org
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who died in our nation's service. It is in our remembering that these American patriots live on. It is by continuing their steadfast defense of our liberties, especially Religious Freedom, that we honor their sacrifice and live up to their rightful expectations of those who live and breathe in the very freedoms for which they died.
Since the first battles to gain America’s independence, the families of 1.8 million Americans have sacrificed the joy and presence of their loved ones to the defense of America’s freedoms. On this Sunday before Memorial Day, how fitting that prayers for these fellow Americans should fill our hearts with gratitude for their sacrifice. Let us remember them in the parades and memorial services, by placing flags on their graves, and reading their epitaphs.
We can acknowledge and thank today’s surviving families for their loved ones’ service and take part in the National Moment of Remembrance with respectful silence at 3pm on Memorial Day.
John Adams, one of our Founding Fathers, said, “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.”
America’s freedom of religion is under grave and immediate threat from government regulations, denial of freedom of speech and court-determined imposition of secular values. Because America’s religious freedom is now under attack, we must assume an active defense of what Pope Benedict XVI called “the most cherished of Americans freedoms”.
In good conscience we can do no less. Our children’s freedoms are not ours to lose.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ prayer for all who died in service to our nation:
“O God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their lives in the service of their country. Grant that through the passion, death and resurrection of your Son they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom and rejoice in you with your saints forever. We ask this through Christ the Lord. Amen
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
From Our Founders: America’s Heritage of Freedom of Religion and Conscience
From the earliest colonists through the adoption of America’s Constitution and later the Bill of Rights, the issue of religious freedom was paramount in the considerations of the citizens and founders of our nation.
By the time of the American Revolution, America’s leaders reflected the colonists’ belief in the importance of God, the Bible, worship and the acceptance of all faiths. Throughout the revolution prayer was a constant and vital support. History shows our founders prayed earnestly and saw frequent instances of what they believed to be divine intervention protecting our armies and leaders.
George Washington said, “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an Independent Nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”
Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 said,” In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard and they were graciously answered.”
Rev. Samuel Langdon, Founding Father, said,” Preserve your government with the utmost attention and solicitude, for it is the remarkable gift of heaven.”
Referring to our Constitution, Samuel Adams said,” The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy the gift of heaven, let us become a virtuous people; then we shall both deserve and enjoy it.”
Our prayers and action are essential to preserve 1st Amendment freedom of religion and conscience.
From the USCCB: Prayer for Religious Liberty
O GOD OUR CREATOR, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ. Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome— for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us— this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
“[May] you defend these rights, especially your religious freedom, for it has been given to you by God himself.” -Pope Francis
Rick Hinshaw served the Catholic Church as editor of The Long Island Catholic and communications director for the Catholic League and the N.Y. State Catholic Conference. He also spent three years as spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon. Here Rick writes about the ordeal his brother John Hinshaw and other pro-life prisoners of conscience are currently undergoing.
Why are my brother and eight other pro-life prisoners of conscience—having already spent eight months in jail—about to be sentenced, probably to ?
Because in October 2020 they engaged in peaceful, prayerful civil disobedience at a notorious late-term Washington, D.C. abortion clinic that the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles has labeled an “infanticide factory.” And because, a year-and-a-half later, two of their group retrieved the remains of five late-term or full-term aborted babies in that clinic’s trash, and challenged authorities to investigate whether the abortionist was violating the federal ban on partial birth abortions, or the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act.
Instead, the FBI re-arrested all nine pro-lifers from the October 2020 sit-in, upgrading local trespassing offenses to federal charges of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. This law was enacted during the Clinton era precisely to enable draconian sentencing for peaceful pro-life civil disobedience.
All nine pro-life defendants, convicted last September, face up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $350,000 when they are sentenced May 14 and 15 for their peaceful, prayerful action.
My brother John’s participation in this pro-life rescue is consistent with a lifetime spent intervening for vulnerable people—from his professional service for those struggling with mental illness, to volunteering at pro-life pregnancy centers, to his caring interaction with homeless people on the street; and to protecting the unborn, without regard for the potentially devastating consequences to himself.
My brother and his fellow prisoners of conscience need our prayers.
They also need our presence of peaceful and prayerful witness for life and justice on May 14 and 15 at E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.
Individual sentencings will begin at 9 a.m. and continue with a different defendant each hour. If you can possibly be there for any time during those two days, please consider doing so.
In any event, please pray for these brave rescuers, for their families, and for all the unborn babies they are trying to save.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
“Parents should teach children to avoid the compromising and degrading influences which threaten human societies.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 2224
Sexual orientation and gender ideology have been added to the traditional definition of sex as male and female for the purposes of Title IX of the 1972 Federal Education Amendments. Title IX gave women equal opportunities to men in sports, scholarships, and programs in schools by preventing discrimination in activities and programs which receive federal funding.
The administration’s changes to Title IX, as of Aug.1, 2024, will conflict with the religious beliefs of millions of Americans whose faiths teach that God created two sexes, male and female. Teachers and students whose religious beliefs in this regard differ from this newly mandated definition will be at risk of discipline, termination and religious discrimination if they continue to live and exercise their faith as set forth in the 1st Amendment.
The new rule equates self-chosen gender identity with God-given biological sex and says that a person’s self-chosen gender identity cannot prevent their participation in any education program or activity. Attorneys studying the redefinitions foresee that the rule will not allow separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and housing for biological males and females and that women’s sports will be endangered. The rule will give legal support to those state and local governments that are already making policy and forcing adherence to these cultural influences.
Following the same ideology, New York state will vote this Nov.5 on a state Constitutional amendment to expand the equal protection clause of the New York state constitution. That clause currently protects from discrimination by race, color, creed or religion. Proposed changes would add protected categories of age, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
The federal Title IX redefinitions and proposed New York state’s constitutional amendment are seen by many as cultural bombs…. imposing an ideology that denies millions of Americans important and basic religious beliefs as well as their right to live their faith and educate their children in their faith.
As summarized by an attorney familiar with these issues, “These redefinitions at the federal and state levels are the same in their intent. However, because one is a federal law and the other a state constitutional amendment, they can be weaponized in different ways by different government entities and private citizens, with different penalties and civil damages that can be levied in different regulatory and judicial forums. So, they open a multi-front war. That dangerous fact should not be underestimated.”
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yxhj623w https://tinyurl.com/yc5durn7 https://tinyurl.com/47fuyzcb https://tinyurl.com/yuaeed3n https://tinyurl.com/3m5zv5ku
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Apr. 18, 2024. In what is called a major win for free speech, a pro-life protestor was reading the Bible aloud, in a conversational tone, on the same street as an anti-Dobbs protest and a few days later at a Pride-Fest rally. In spite of police acting to stop him, his right to speak his views publicly and peaceably was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District. Meinecke v. City of Seattle https://tinyurl.com/53xrfzms
Police had asked the protestor to stop reading and/or move to another location saying that he was causing a disruption to the ongoing events and there could be violence as a result of his reading. Some rally attendees tried to intimidate him, to drown out his reading, stole one of his Bibles, poured water on another Bible and knocked him down. Instead of arresting those who assaulted the protestor, police detained him and charged him with obstruction.
The Ninth Circuit judges found the man’s 1st Amendment freedom of speech had been “burdened” by the police asking him to leave the area and then arresting him for “obstruction” even though he was on a public sidewalk peacefully expressing his views. The court stated that whether the listeners found his views offensive or even hateful did not negate the protestor’s right to speak as he did.
Had the protestor complied with the police’s request for him to stop reading or move to another space, the court said that would have constituted a “Heckler’s Veto.” We see Heckler’s Vetoes often on college campuses when invited speakers are prevented from speaking by raucous, completely disruptive behavior and threats that stop any message of the invited speaker.
The judges concluded: “If speech provokes wrongful acts on the part of the hecklers, the government must deal with those wrongful acts directly; it may not avoid doing so by suppressing the speech.” Meinecke v. City of Seattle; Page 4
More: https://tinyurl.com/bdefkkk7 https://tinyurl.com/ykcnhc37 https://tinyurl.com/2rp6utaz
“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness, which mankind now enjoys… Jedidiah Morse
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
School Says “No” to Interfaith Prayer Club a Week after Approving a Pride Club
A student in Creekside Elementary School, WA, asked her principal if she could start an after school interfaith prayer group so she and her religious friends would feel comfortable and safe praying and doing community service together.
The principal replied that all clubs had started earlier in the year so there was no funding for another club and the girl and her friends would have to pay to use space in the school like other outside groups. Meanwhile, one week earlier, the school had approved a new Pride Club.
Based on 1st Amendment rights of free speech and free exercise of religion many such denials have been invalidated by courts so that a law firm representing a case like this usually needs to go no further than to write a letter listing the freedoms the school has denied and citing other such cases settled in favor of the student.
Situations like this could be avoided, and religious clubs quickly approved if we Americans were familiar with the basics of our religious freedoms including students’ rights to live their faith in many ways in public schools. Our children deciding to bring their faith to school should not have to struggle for the religious freedom already won for them by our Founding Fathers.
The US Department of Education explains students’ rights to religious expression in public schools at the link below. Also, at www.cffor.org there is a short video and a pamphlet on “Students of Faith” which cover much of the guidelines.
Thank God as well as the faithful parents of these children that we have students eager to live their faith in school. May they thrive in their love of God and serve as examples of hope and faith for some of our young Americans whom studies show feel isolated and hopeless.
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/528xbzcy https://tinyurl.com/yc62732a
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” -John Adams
A state Senator from Nebraska, first elected in 2016, has announced he will be switching his political affiliation because his right to maintain his pro-life views is not respected by his party.
When Mike McDonnell voted for a bill which would have banned most abortions in his state and another bill prohibiting transgender drugs and body altering surgeries for minors, his party withdrew support for him and blocked him from voting on his county’s party matters. Sen. McDonnell subsequently changed political parties.
His party issued a statement that it was not his Catholic, pro-life views they objected to, but that their actions were affirming their party’s position on these matters. The Senator believes his Catholic, pro-life views were the cause for the censures.
The treatment of Sen. McDonnell echoes a type of discrimination, a religious test for public office, shunned by our founders. The founders believed that America could preserve the extensive individual liberties of our Constitution only if the morality of each citizen could be brought into the public square of ideas, debate and policies. The morals and virtues accepted in America’s private and public spheres were to include all faiths with preference for none. To that end the founders specifically eliminated any “religious tests” from the requirements for holding public office.
“Our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God.” Thomas Jefferson
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yckau9bx https://tinyurl.com/4akcs4j2 https://tinyurl.com/2axnw96f
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Stewarding Religious Freedom: A Privilege and a Responsibility
In 2013 when volunteers from Catholics for Freedom of Religion began sharing the facts of 1st Amendment religious freedom and speaking about the denials and subversion of that freedom, we were met with some Catholics agreeing strongly that religious freedom was at risk. Other Catholics suspected problems with religious freedom and wanted to learn more and act to preserve religious freedom, but most Catholics insisted that because they could go to church on Sunday, there was no problem with religious freedom…nothing to see and no reason to be concerned.
A decade later the denials of religious freedom have expanded to faithful Americans being derided and disrespected by authority figures whose lies and distortions are obvious and do great harm. We are painted as harming women by opposing the destruction of pre-born life, mocked to the point of sacrilege in the media and the public square, investigated by the FBI for being traditional, tracked by the Treasury Dept. for purchasing religious texts, Bibles, guns and merchandise from certain retailers and contributing to law firms supporting life and religious freedom. Our churches and shrines are vandalized with no perpetrators caught while peaceful pro-life protestors are punished with extreme fines and imprisonment. And there is more.
In 2013 Richard Doerflinger, then Associate Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the USCCB wrote about the political forces injecting themselves into the churches and lives of Catholics. He wrote, “At that point we must resist, or we will have nowhere to go with our faith except the hidden resources of our own minds. “Politics” of an especially intolerant kind will take over everything else.” Jesus said,” Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Doerflinger concluded,” Every once in a while, we may have to remind Caesar that we don’t owe him our souls.”
Read Doerflinger’s complete remarks here: https://tinyurl.com/kza4wckj
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
The dawn was purpling o'er the sky, With alleluias rang the air;
Earth held a glorious jubilee; Hell gnashed its teeth in fierce despair.
When our most valiant mighty King, From death's abyss in dread array,
Lead the long imprisoned Fathers forth, Into the beam of life and day.
When He whom stone and seal and guard, Had safely to the tomb consigned,
Triumphant rose and buried death, Deep in the grave he left behind.
Calm all your grief and still your tears, Hark the descending angel cries,
For Christ is risen from the dead, And death is slain no more to rise.
-Edward Caswall from Aurora Lucis Rutilat 6C. 1849
As we rejoice with our risen Lord on this glorious day, religious freedom/the rights of conscience empower Americans to rejoice and celebrate, not only within the four walls of our churches which is the definition of “freedom to worship”, but in our homes, community and in the public square. We are free to teach about the resurrection through the Bible and other religious books, and to invite others to join us. We are free to have open worship and celebration of Easter as seen in the Easter sunrise services throughout America, all protected by “freedom of religion.”
Our 1st Amendment religious freedom restricts our government from imposing or favoring one religion over another or prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Americans of every faith or of none are protected in their thoughts, speech and practice of faith because our founders knew that freedom of religion taken from one was taken from all.
One of our founders, the Rev John Leland of Virginia, who is considered the father of the 1st amendment wrote in support of religious liberty for all: “The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence, whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Good Friday is Near. Are We Ready to Follow Jesus and Take Up His Cross?
Ten years ago Prof. Robert George of Princeton University, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, spoke about changes in our culture’s attitude and treatment regarding those who faithfully follow the teachings of the Bible. He pointed out that a Catholic who actually lives the teachings of his faith is in for a very rough time.
That time has been with us for ten full years now and grows even more difficult. In 2024 the anti-religion, Bible-bashing forces in our society, abetted by government regulations, spurious court challenges and media-driven extremism are imposing an even more Herculean challenge to Americans who believe and faithfully aspire to live the words of the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
From almost every direction come pressures to enable the destruction of pre-born life, to validate an array of gender identities, to bless marriages outside of the union of one man and one woman, to submit our children to principles and behaviors unacceptable to our consciences and accept denial of our rights to speak and act as full participants within the public square of ideas and policies.
When Prof. George urged us ten years ago that as Catholics we must live the truth of the Gospel as proclaimed by the Church, he acknowledged there would be a price to pay. From being cancelled to being ostracized and marginalized we see that cost every day.
Prof. George said, “You see, for us, as for our faithful Evangelical friends, it is now Good Friday. The memory of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem has faded.” “The love affair with Jesus, his gospel and his church is over. Elite sectors of the cultures of Europe and North America no longer welcome his message.” “Away with him,” they shout. “Give us Barrabas!”
More than ever, the Catholic laity must speak and act publicly in defense of religious freedom. By being dynamic in following our faith, our actions will exemplify our words. Cardinal Dolan has reminded us that a charism of the laity is to protect religious freedom in the public square. Archbishop Chaput advised, “If lay people don’t love their Catholic faith enough to struggle for it in the public square, nothing the bishops do will finally matter.”
Read Prof. George’s full remarks here: https://tinyurl.com/87espsd2
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
“The age of casual Catholicism is over. The age of heroic Catholicism has begun." -Father Terence Henry, TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Whether the issue of religious freedom/freedom of conscience is the right to teach our children the faith, not being forced to fund abortion, evangelization, assembling for worship, the integrity of the words of the Bible, witnessing and advocating our faith and morals in the public square, operating foster parent adoption agencies, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, drug addiction services, etc., all Americans benefit from the God-given right of religious freedom. Our founders agreed with James Madison, “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.”
The Declaration of Independence asserts that we have inalienable rights from our Creator and that government’s role is to protect those rights. Differing from the history of nations world-wide, the citizens of the new United States claimed the natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from their Creator, free from dictates by a king, emperor or all-powerful government.
We are, more than ever, experiencing unrelenting pressures to yield our right to follow our conscience in the choice for life. The ability to choose life, from conception to natural death, can be regulated and legislated away from us (by the proposed Equity Act) if freedom of conscience and religion are not preserved. Doctors, nurses and hospitals could be required, under proposed legislation, to participate in abortions as part of their licensing, and they could be required to implement certain end of life protocols which some see as denial of treatment.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision that there is no federal Constitutional right to abortion and therefore abortion laws are the purview of each state, those who demand unrestricted abortion are working feverishly within states for abortion on demand. Each American has the duty to learn and preserve our religious freedom’s right of conscience for ages and millions yet unborn.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/jrhe45cw https://tinyurl.com/y3tbs88k https://tinyurl.com/ywcs9b2p
“In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good.” -Pope Francis
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Join the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage May 17- July 16, 2024 Public Witness Across America to the Real Presence in the Eucharist
Since the National Eucharistic Revival was launched in Oct.,2022 under the leadership and guidance of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), dioceses and their parishes across this country have hosted worship, education and inspiration events to restore understanding and devotion to the mystery and the miracle of Christ present in the Eucharist.
Bishop Robert Barron, renowned theologian and expert on St. Thomas wrote this in summary of Aquinas’ Eucharistic Theology: “The Eucharist, above any other Sacrament or sign, contains and causes Grace. Just as food sustains, repairs and delights the body, so the Eucharist sustains, repairs and delights the soul. Without the body of Christ, the spiritual life in us would be compromised by sin, become atrophied and flattened out, and finally would fade away altogether.” (Diocese of Venice, Fl; Faith Formation Series)
After this period of renewal of our Eucharistic devotion, all Catholics have the opportunity to offer public witness to our belief and devotion to Christ in the Eucharist. The experience of this National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will change lives forever. Walking, standing and praying openly in the public square has been a practice of Catholics for Freedom of Religion (CFFR) throughout the twelve years of our ministry to our fellow Catholics.
When CFFR first stood together with 700 Catholics in public witness of prayer outside of a Catholic Hospital on Long Island…praying for the preservation of Catholic healthcare in spite of government mandates that would deny the conscience rights of the hospitals, schools, universities and business owners…we did not foresee the intensity of that experience for our organizers and the participants. There is truly a boldness in action and an inexplicable strengthening of faith and resolve when we witness together the truths of our faith.
To see the details of the Eucharistic Pilgrimage go to www.Eucharisticpilgrimage.org
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Some Concerns Communicated in the USCCB’s Report on the
State of Religious Liberty in the United States Have Already Been Validated
The bishop’s report, issued on Jan. 16, 2024, looked at many areas of possible problems for 1st Amendment religious freedom going forward and the effects which could reach to Catholics and people of every faith. In recent news are examples of their apprehensions becoming reality.
Feb. 11, 2024: An armed person entered Lakewood Church in Houston and began firing at worshippers. The attacker was killed by security personnel, but two other people were shot, including the attacker’s son.
Feb. 15, 2024: A statue of the Blessed Mother holding the Infant Jesus was vandalized with what looks like hammer blows to the face. The statue stands at the Washington D.C. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Feb. 19, 2024: At the National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia there are stained glass windows with scenes from the saint’s life. Three of the windows had panes shattered by rocks and stones thrown from outside per the security cameras.
Feb. 25, 2024: A letter from the St. Thomas More Legal Society, which is defending pro-life activist, Lauren Handy, advises that Lauren, who has been convicted of an offense under the FACE Act, will be sentenced on May 14 and could be sent to prison for 11 years. The bishops’ report explains that the FACE Act was intended to protect abortion facilities, churches and pro-life clinics but has never been used except to charge pro-life demonstrators and sentence them to extreme penalties for peaceful, non-violent actions.
The bishops’ report discusses many areas where religious freedom has been diminished and other impending government mandates that would greatly damage every American’s ability to practice their faith. The charism of the laity is to bring these issues into the public square and stand for the morality which our founders knew was the only sure protection of our liberties.
Connect with the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty to receive Action Alerts and the latest updates on current religious freedom issues. http://tinyurl.com/4brtsyjt
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bdhk3nbs http://tinyurl.com/2ey4jp9v http://tinyurl.com/4secd73k http://tinyurl.com/2kxx2zsw
“Those who deny religious freedom seek to end the influence of faith and morals in our society. As Catholics, our actions must make it clear, we will not surrender our religious liberty.” -William F. Murphy, Bishop-Emeritus; Diocese of Rockville Centre
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Warnings from Nine Popes about Socialism and Its Threat to Religious Freedom: Part 2
"Socialism (is) the most bitter enemy of Christian principles." -Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922)
The Catholic Church has condemned Socialism in all its forms - so-called Christian Socialism as well as atheistic Socialism - without exception. But why? What is the error of socialism?
Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) said, "The fundamental error of socialism is ... (it) considers the individual person simply as an element, a molecule within the social organism, so that the good of the individual is completely subordinated to the functioning of the socio-economic mechanism." However, Christianity holds the belief that each individual must be free to assume responsibility for his own choices. Jesus came to save each person individually and not a collective called "people."
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) wrote, “It is clear that the main tenet of socialism, community of goods, must be utterly rejected, since (it is) directly contrary to the natural rights
of mankind and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal.” Socialism advances the error that private property is not a human right but can be taken away from individuals by the state and given to others.
Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) explained, "Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is injustice and a grave evil to assign to a higher association (big organization or government) what a lesser and subordinate association (local organizations or government) can do."
"No Catholic could subscribe even to moderate socialism (since) Socialism is founded on a doctrine of human society which ... takes no account of any objective other than that of material well-being. It proposes a form of social organization which aims solely at production; it places too severe a restraint on human liberty," wrote Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) in his 1961 encyclical Mater et Magistra.)
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/3kabjtew http://tinyurl.com/2jdz7496 http://tinyurl.com/9f5pt5an
"The state which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person- every person – needs: namely, loving, personal concern.” -Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013)
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Warnings from Nine Popes about Socialism and Its Threat to Religious Freedom: Part 1
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Traditional Latin Mass is Celebrated in the U.S. Capitol One Year after the Leak of the FBI Memo Linking Traditional Catholics to Domestic Terrorists
February 11, 2024
On Jan. 23, 2024 the Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated inside the Capitol of the United States in response to an invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jim Jordan, and Congressman Dan Meuser to coincide with the one year anniversary of the leaking of the contested memo from multiple FBI offices claiming that extremists and terrorist groups were connected with traditional Catholic communities.
The Arlington Latin Mass society coordinated the event and reported that invitations to the Mass were limited in deference to Traditionis Custodis. About 60 people were in attendance including some Congressional staffers, but no members of Congress were present as they were out of town on recess.
After the controversial memo was made public, the FBI stated the memo would be withdrawn as it did not meet FBI standards. However, a Jan. 31, 2024 letter from 15 GOP Senators to FBI Director, Christopher Wray, asked for intact records from the FBI regarding the memo, since the records were allegedly permanently deleted after the memo became public. The Senators want to clear up differences between Director Wray’s testimony and new information on the surveillance of Catholics.
This is the memo that Cardinal Dolan, speaking in Feb., 2023 as then Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Religious Freedom found to be ‘troubling and offensive.’ The Jan, 16, 2024 USCCB’s Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the U.S. also pointed out concerns regarding this troubling action by the FBI.
Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/25zd2bbb http://tinyurl.com/5c4wazfk http://tinyurl.com/5dwccjn9 http://tinyurl.com/5yv76bsv http://tinyurl.com/4phcarsm
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN A MINUTE
Thinking about 1st Amendment Religious Liberty after the Jan. 16 USCCB’s Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the United States
In response to the United States Bishops’ concerns about religious liberty in our Nation, Catholics can support their efforts and follow the God given charism to the laity of taking our faith into the public square by learning the facts and rights of our Constitutional freedoms of conscience and religion.
The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is direct and definitive.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The concerns of the bishops and millions of Americans originate in a culture which now marginalizes faith and religion, shows growing contempt and intolerance for people of faith, tolerates unsolved crimes of vandalism on hundreds of churches and pregnancy centers and has not stood up as one people to condemn the FBI’s investigation of Catholics attending the Traditional Latin Mass. Most Americans are unaware that this administration has proposed a Health and Human Services regulation which the bishops reported would force doctors to perform transgender surgeries and may also include a mandate to perform abortions.
An added concern reported since the bishops’ report of Jan. 16, is that the House Judiciary Committee revealed documents in which FinCEN (the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit) asked financial institutions to track customer’s transactions for the purchase of religious texts, including the Bible as well as guns, travel tickets, purchases at Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, etc. FinCEN said those purchases could be “extremist indicators.”
Read here: http://tinyurl.com/5dwccjn9 http://tinyurl.com/4b3ku763 http://tinyurl.com/3yfvcs8b
“Nothing is more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion.” -John Adams