RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WEEKLY
Spokane Bishop Daly says priests will face jail rather than comply
On May 2, 2025 Washington state governor, Bob Fergusen, signed a bill into law which requires all members of all clergies to report instances of child abuse and neglect with no exception for information learned in the confessional. The Canon Law of the Catholic church holds that the seal of the confessional cannot be broken and any such action would be punishable by excommunication. The state of Montana is considering a similar law denying the sacredness of the seal of the confessional.
Per the National Catholic Register of May 7, 2025, “It’s long-standing and settled law in the U.S. that priest-penitent discussions are privileged private communications that can be withheld from legal authorities.”
The first clash with the civil courts regarding information learned in the confessional was People v. Philips, dating back to 1813. In that case it was decided that the secrecy of the confessional is the essence of the practice and removing it would annihilate this part of the Catholic religion.
As reported by the Catholic News Agency on May 6, the Department of Justice is now investigating the Washington law : “Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to the governor and called the mandate a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession, a religious practice ordained by the Catholic Church dating back to the Church’s origins.” “Not only does this new law put state authorities in direct conflict with the free exercise of a well-established religion, but your law demands that priests disobey one of the Catholic Church’s first authorities related to confession,” she wrote. “This state command runs afoul of the First Amendment.”
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/3abhve77 https://tinyurl.com/2rfj7jyr https://tinyurl.com/2e8jr85e https://tinyurl.com/mtc9pdyy
Code of Cannon Law. Title IV – The Sacrament of Penance 983 §1. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.
“Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight - all through the day. Let us pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes. Let us pray for the churches. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.” -General Robert E Lee, 1863
“It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.” -Patrick Henry
“We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!” -John Adams
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power. … But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” -Abraham Lincoln - Day of Prayer Proclamation, March 30, 1863
Throughout our nation Americans are standing in prayer for the preservation of our liberties. Their voices are the essence and reality of America’s 1st Amendment religious freedom. Thank God for our neighbors with the courage to pray before a school board meeting, to pray on our public streets, to pray in front of abortion clinics, to pray with their fellow students at appropriate times during their school day, to pray before public events, to pray before meals in a restaurant, to stand in public witness prayer with rosaries in their hands.
May God bless and shield them from harm. Let their example inspire all Americans to practice their faith openly and effectively as our founders intended when they declared the natural rights of conscience and liberty from our Creator.
Pope Francis
December 17, 1936 – April 21, 2025; Requiescat in Pace
“In today’s world, religious freedom is more often affirmed than put into practice.” Defending religious liberty “guarantees the growth and development of the entire community.” – June 8, 2013
“When, in the name of an ideology, there is an attempt to remove God from society, it ends up adoring idols, and very soon men and women lose their way, their dignity is trampled and their rights violated.” – Sept. 23, 2014
“American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.” – Sept. 23, 2015 Pope Francis at the White House
“Let us preserve freedom. Let us cherish freedom. Freedom of conscience, religious freedom, the freedom of each person, each family, each people, which is what gives rise to rights.” “[May] you defend these rights, especially your religious freedom, for it has been given to you by God himself.” – September 25, 2015 Pope Francis at Independence Hall, Philadelphia
There is, however, also “another kind of persecution that is not often spoken about”, Francis noted. The first form of persecution “is due to confessing the name of Christ” and it is thus “a clear, explicit type of persecution”. The other kind of persecution is “disguised as culture, disguised as modernity, disguised as progress: it is a kind of — I would say somewhat ironically — polite persecution”. You can recognize “when someone is persecuted not for confessing Christ’s name, but for wanting to demonstrate the values of the Son of God”. Thus, it is a kind of “persecution against God the Creator in the person of his children”. – April 12, 2016
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/yc6se9d6
Pope Francis’ Teachings about Religious Freedom
May 4, 2025
Chapter Six: Dialogue and Friendship in Society
The BASIS of Consensus: Building together
206. The solution is not relativism. Under the guise of tolerance, relativism ultimately leaves the interpretation of moral values to those in power, to be defined as they see fit. “In the absence of objective truths or sound principles other than the satisfaction of our own desires and immediate needs… we should not think that political efforts or the force of law will be sufficient… When the culture itself is corrupt, and objective truth and universally valid principles are no longer upheld, then laws can only be seen as arbitrary impositions or obstacles to be avoided”.
210. ‘What is now happening, and drawing us into a perverse and barren way of thinking, is the reduction of ethics and politics to physics. Good and evil no longer exist in themselves; there is only a calculus of benefits and burdens. As a result of the displacement of moral reasoning, the law is no longer seen as reflecting a fundamental notion of justice but as mirroring notions currently in vogue. Breakdown ensues: everything is ‘leveled down’ by a superficial bartered consensus. In the end, the law of the strongest prevails.’
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/59a2avxt
Pope Francis
December 17, 1936 – April 21, 2025
Requiescat in Pace
Remembering and Learning from the Words of Pope Francis
Fratelli Tutti
The Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis
ON FRATERNITY AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP
Christ knew the suffering and death he was to endure for the salvation of mankind. He knew the cross was his to accept or reject.
“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” – Mark 8:31
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” – Luke 22:42
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” – John 10:18
As we remember and consecrate the suffering and death of Our Lord and his resurrection from the dead this Easter Sunday, we are reminded that we are expected to take up the crosses in our lives if we are to be numbered among the followers of Christ.
And to the disciples Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” - Matthew 16:24
Sometimes we fail to recognize the crosses before us and consider difficult situations to be “someone else’s problem”… or something that will “work its way out”… or something that is “none of my business”…or something where “my actions would not make a real difference.”
Some of the crosses too often ignored are the burdens of protecting and preserving religious freedom, the rights of conscience, in America whose citizens have been exceptionally blessed with a Constitution defending their right to choose their faith and practice it openly. It is an obligation of each of us to learn the truth of religious freedom, its benefits and its enemies so that we may answer to Our Lord that we preserved his gift for ages and millions yet unborn.
Find educational information at www.CatholicsforFreedomofReligion.org www.cffor.org
The strife is o'er, the battle done; the victory of life is won; the song of triumph has begun. Alleluia!
Translator: Francis Pott, 1861
Kentucky will join other states in adding a public monument of the Ten Commandments on its Capitol grounds. Such monuments are often a gift from an organization within the state. The Fraternal Order of Eagles donated Kentucky’s Ten Commandments monument in 1971 but it was removed in 2002 due to legal concerns.
Individuals and organizations such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation, often sue states and cities to force removal of such monuments which they believe conflict with the 1st amendment’s establishment clause. They assert that displaying the Ten Commandments is an establishment of the Christian faith and should not be allowed on public property.
However, the Supreme Court has upheld displays of the Ten Commandments on state and federal properties. The court’s opinion in Van Orden v. Perry held that the Constitution does allow the display of the Ten Commandments on the state of Texas’ Capitol grounds and cites the findings of a district court: “The District Court also determined that a reasonable observer, mindful of the history, purpose, and context, would not conclude that this passive monument conveyed the message that the State was seeking to endorse religion.” This set the precedent for other states like Kentucky.
Regarding the Texas monument, the majority of the justices wrote that: “ Such acknowledgments of the role played by the Ten Commandments in our Nation’s heritage are common throughout America. We need only look within our own Courtroom. Since 1935, Moses has stood, holding two tablets that reveal portions of the Ten Commandments written in Hebrew, among other lawgivers in the south frieze. Representations of the Ten Commandments adorn the metal gates lining the north and south sides of the Courtroom as well as the doors leading into the Courtroom. Moses also sits on the exterior east facade of the building holding the Ten Commandments tablets.
Similar acknowledgments can be seen throughout a visitor’s tour of our Nation’s Capital.”
Read More: https://tinyurl.com/yk7y26tr https://tinyurl.com/ms6jfck7
America’s Declaration of Independence asserted that all men are endowed by their Creator, not their government, with rights which could not be taken away…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. After signing the Declaration of Independence, Founding Father, Samuel Adams, wrote: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come.”
In 1787 Founder Benjamin Franklin reminded the Constitutional Convention about the divine protection for which they had prayed daily and gratefully observed in many battles. Franklin asked “ And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need his assistance?” Franklin encouraged continued prayers, “And if a sparrow cannot fall from a tree without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid.”
Throughout the Revolutionary War and the rise of this new nation, our founding fathers and mothers believed that morals and religion were essential to their victory and to the continued preservation of individual liberties. George Washington advised, “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.” To further protect religious freedom/conscience rights the 1st Amendment to the Constitution begins with protection from government imposed religion and protection for the free exercise of religion.
As the Declaration of Independence declared, governments are instituted among men to secure men’s rights based on the consent of the governed. The government structure adopted by the Constitution was a three branch structure so defined as to separate federal powers into three co-equal branches pf government. The checks and balances of each branch upon the others was intended to prevent the tyranny our founders and their forefathers had endured.
When religious freedom is the issue we have seen each of the three branches significantly involved. The Legislative Branch , which is centered around Congress, makes the laws. The Executive Branch, led by the President, enforces laws. The Judicial Branch, headed by the Supreme Court, interprets the laws. Several important religious freedom cases have been heard by the Supreme Court in recent years and more are on the court’s schedule. We can also expect and track new laws and executive orders dealing with issues of conscience and religious freedom. Knowing our rights to religious freedom allows us to exercise and preserve those freedoms and ensure the open practice of our Catholic faith for generations to come.
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. -Mark 10:6
The Catholic church teaches that parents have the basic right and responsibility to direct their children’s educations. Across the country too many schools have usurped a role of teaching children theories about sex that have no basis in science and directly contradict many families’ religious beliefs.
Most Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington explains: “In the past decade our culture has seen growing acceptance of transgender ideology-that is, the claim that a person's biological sex and personal identity have no necessary connection and could in fact contradict each other.“ Pope Francis. (2016). Amoris Laetitia “According to this view, “human identity” is self-defined and “becomes the choice of the individual.”
This, according to Bishop Burbridge and other authoritative teachers of Catholic dogma, is an extreme challenge to all church members since this is a view contrary to the truth. Pope Francis has warned: “Today children-children!-are taught in school that everyone can choose his or her sex. Why are they teaching this? Let us not play with truths. It's true that behind all this we find gender ideology. In books, kids learn that it's possible to change one's sex. Could gender, to be a woman or to be a man, be an option and not a fact of nature? This leads to this error. Let us call things by their names.” Pope Francis. (2016, July 27)
In Montgomery County, Maryland parents have been refused the ability to opt out their children from gender ideology lessons which the Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic parents argue conflict with their religious beliefs and their right to teach those beliefs to their children. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty will present the parents’ case to the Supreme Court this spring. Other similar cases are working their way through the courts with parents seeking to protect the 1st Amendment religious freedom of their families to follow their faith.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/ywex6yy2 https://tinyurl.com/42nb7w9s https://tinyurl.com/48rtaw9u
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. -Proverbs 22:6
Each year new cases are brought to defend the religious freedom of members of our military by law firms who defend religious freedom in all relevant situations. Many Catholics wonder why there is an organization such as Catholics for Freedom of Religion. They tell us they can go to church on Sunday so what is the problem.
Freedom of Worship is not freedom of religion. Freedom of Worship is the right to pray within the church of your choice. Freedom of religion is the right to worship in church, in your home and in the public square, as in processions, public rosaries, etc. Freedom of Religion is the right to live your faith openly in every area of your life. So the cases brought against the military are an area of great concern. Many cases in recent years reflect a resistance to God’s presence among the military as service men and women are criticized, marginalized and even dismissed for their religious beliefs and practices which denies their right to freedom of religion.
On Jan. 17, 2025 Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit to defend an Idaho National Guardsman, Major Worley, because he was removed from a command position solely for his religious beliefs which he had stated in a venue off duty and outside of his military service. Major Worley was investigated based on a complaint filed by a guardsman who said he felt unsafe and threatened because of Worley’s beliefs. The investigation showed no wrongdoing by Worley but still he was removed by a general who decided Worley’s Christian views were toxic.
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/33d36csv
Read here about a VA chaplain whose sermons are being censored because he preaches based on his religious beliefs and his ecclesiastical endorsement. https://tinyurl.com/3pnhvnzn
The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!” -Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Countless studies show that when national well-being is measured, countries with higher levels of religious freedom have greater economic growth, social stability and national unity.
Our founders valued religious freedom because they believed it was one of the natural rights, the inalienable rights, endowed on every man by our creator. They knew that the morality and religious freedom protected and nurtured by our 1st Amendment would benefit each American and would be the protection of the many other individual rights set forth in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They knew it was essential to peace and prosperity for each citizen.
Lack of religious freedom has fostered violence around the world and incited persecution and discrimination which is ongoing today in countless countries.
Annual reports from the non-denominational organization Open Doors track persecution of Christians worldwide. As of Jan. 2025 they report 310 million Christians, 1 in 7 worldwide, suffer extreme persecution.
The example and strength of America’s religious freedom is a light to the rest of the world. However the denials of religious freedom to Americans increased with hundreds of attacks in the last four years on churches, shrines and life centers remaining unsolved, peaceful pro-life advocates only now being released from imprisonment due to unequally applied laws, etc.
Educating and speaking out on the facts and benefits of religious freedom will enable us to preserve it for our children and grandchildren.
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/38fcbsn4 https://tinyurl.com/43kyne2f
“Today we are the witnesses. We will pray and we will speak. We will act together and invite others to join us. And we will never give up, never give in because we know: whether in chains or laurels religious freedom and liberty know nothing but victories!” -William F. Murphy, Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master, or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.” - Martin Luthur King, Jr.
In our most influential public square…the Capitol of our nation, two major prayer events were held in Feb. welcoming a bipartisan representation of politicians and other Americans to hear messages of morals, faith and religious liberty from the speakers. They prayed together for unity in our nation and for God’s guidance so that Americans will flourish.
The National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 6, 2025 was first held in 1953. This year President Trump addressed the gathering and pointed out that Thomas Jefferson once attended church services in the old house chamber which was the very place President Trump stood to address the breakfast’s attendees. The president urged all Americans to protect our bedrock value of Religious Liberty and to reinvigorate religion and morals as our goal and guide.
On Feb. 28, The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, where this year’s theme was “Hope”, marked the 20th year of this call to Catholics and all Americans to come together and pray for our nation and the flourishing of Americans. The main speaker, Vice-President J.D. Vance, a convert to Catholicism, shared glimpses of his faith journey and the joy of his son’s baptism.
There have always been critics of these prayer events who protest that “separation of church and state” prohibits this focus on God, faith and prayer at the Capitol. In fact, Thomas Jefferson‘s use of that phrase was as protection of churches and individual conscience from interference by the state.
Read More: https://tinyurl.com/4vcth44y https://tinyurl.com/2kef862x
“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.”- Edward Everett
For over 10 years weekly bulletin articles from Catholics for Freedom of Religion (CFFOR) have been published in church bulletins. The focus of each article is some aspect of America’s religious freedom. We are often told by parish bulletin editors that the entire office staff is eager to read each new article and shares it with family and friends. The CFFOR volunteers would estimate that someone reading even 25% of the articles knows more about religious freedom than the vast majority of Americans.
Be sure to keep the articles printed in your bulletin and share the information with children, parents, and your friends of all faiths. Remember that freedom of religion, like freedom of speech, is critical to all Americans. There is damaging propaganda against religious freedom repeated every day in the media, in politics, from organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and uninformed Americans from clergy to school teachers.
The most damaging of the propaganda are these two misstatements:
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Separation of church and state keeps God, faith and religion out of the public square of ideas and policies
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God and prayer are not allowed in America’s public schools
The bulletin articles have often corrected these false assertions and other misinformation. The articles also give examples of religious freedom denied and of religious freedom victories. The articles are available with the current article on the homepage at cffor.org and all past articles linked from the current one. All articles can be printed from the website.
If you are seeing the articles from another church bulletin you can request them to be emailed to your church or your individual email. Send us an email to: info@catholicsforfreedomofreligin.org or leave us a voicemail at 631-896-8331.
“If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security.” -Samuel Adams
The United States is the only nation instituted by a people claiming the rights of nature and nature’s God to rule themselves without the dictates of a king, emperor or “divinely-appointed” magistrate.
The United States Declaration of Independence asserts these natural rights “…all men are created equal…that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.”
In the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights, religious freedom, freedom of speech and of the press, freedoms to assemble and to petition for redress are named as critical first examples of man’s rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The framework our founders created, along with their writings and speeches, confirm their convictions that morality was essential to preserving liberty and that freedom of religion and conscience were indispensable supports of morality.
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“Religion and good morals are the only solid foundation of public liberty and happiness.” Samuel Adams
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“Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.” George Washington
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“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important one and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed.” Noah Webster
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“We have no government armed in power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.” John Adams
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“Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion.”Daniel Webster
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“Morality is not man’s prison, but rather the divine element in him.” Pope Benedict XVI
During the first month of 2025 the protection and flourishing of religious liberty in the United States has been the object of the annual report from the United States Bishops and of actions of the new federal administration.
On Jan. 16, 2025 The State of Religious Liberty in the United States, the annual report from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was released.
The USCCB committee’s report here https://tinyurl.com/5eyp8hyh describes the five areas of critical concern—some as threats and some as opportunities—for religious liberty:
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the targeting of faith-based immigration services
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the persistence of elevated levels of antisemitic incidents
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IVF mandates, which represent a significant threat to religious freedom, while the national discussion of IVF represents an opportunity for Catholics to share Church teaching and advocate for human dignity
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the scaling back of gender ideology in law
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parental choice in education, one of the longest-running areas of concern
Significant actions by the federal government during January, 2025 have the goal of protecting conscience rights for all. The administration has reinstated two policies: the Mexico Policy preventing tax dollars from funding international organizations which promote sterilization and abortion and the Hyde Amendment which mandates that no tax dollars finance elective abortions in this country.
An executive order also recognized that there are two sexes, male and female, and that life begins at conception. At the National Prayer breakfast, the president announced a new task-force to root out anti-Christian bias and the formation of a Commission on Religious Liberty as well as the establishment of a faith office in the White House.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/3x7p23z3 https://tinyurl.com/bd6kxy6y
“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.” - Thomas Jefferson
A teacher’s strong faith and courage are being tested now that a small, personal crucifix on her desk for ten years is suddenly unacceptable to her employer. Marisol Arroyo-Cortez was unexpectedly called to meet with her vice-principal and a union representative because of “concern” over the crucifix.
The teacher was told she must remove the cross because it was an expression of her faith and did not belong in the classroom. When she explained that the cross was an important part of her faith in her every day life and gave her comfort and encouragement throughout her day, she was offered an unacceptable compromise of putting the crucifix in a drawer or displaying it under her desk so students could not see it. A few days later she was put on leave.
Arroyo-Cortez reached out to First Liberty attorneys who defend religious freedom cases and Keisha Russell, a senior counsel, stated that it is a violation of the 1st Amendment freedom of speech and freedom of religion to require a teacher to clear their personal space of anything religious. Russell referred to the Supreme Court decision re Coach Kennedy v. Bremerton School District which said the coach could not be deprived by his school employer of his right to personal prayer simply because his prayer could be seen by students and the public.
Commenting as the Coach Kennedy decision was released, Justice Gorsuch said that the Constitution does not mandate nor tolerate shutting down personal religious expression.
Protecting and asserting the religious freedom of students and teachers in America’s public schools is critical to young Americans. Their heritage of liberty includes the understanding and experience of the inalienable right to chose their faith and express it openly. Assure them their freedom of religion and speech is declared and enshrined in our founding documents.
Read more here:
https://tinyurl.com/4srp24e3 https://tinyurl.com/nzsv27e5 https://tinyurl.com/nfvwwxmd
Watch 9 minute video demonstrating the Dept. of Education’s list of students’ rights to live their faith in public schools at www.cffor.org
Teachers Retain Personal Freedom of Religion in Public Schools
February 9, 2025
The Importance of Being Obviously Catholic
January 26, 2025
Passing on our faith through valued traditions
A bishop explained at a Religious Freedom service that as a young boy in communist Poland he had to hide his intention to enter the priesthood. His family, friends, parish priest and even his parents could not be told. He kept his vocation a secret because if his school administrators or the local government officials found out, the young man knew the harsh political and social reality of communist Poland would result in his being refused an education and prevented from entering the priesthood.
That young man, and millions of other men and women around the world, were and still are denied what most Americans take for granted… the First Amendment religious freedom to choose our faith and our worship and live it openly and freely without fear of perscution.
America’s freedom of religion is not perfectly protected, but is strong enough that most Americans can live their faith satisfactorily to their conscience demands. However, when Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was recently asked if he thought our religious freedom laws would continue to protect Americans his answer was that he believes the religious freedom laws will prevail, but the culture of faith may not.
Thanks to the protection of America’s religious freedom and rights of conscience we can create a culture of faith in our homes and our family lives…a culture reflecting that we are obviously and deliberately Catholic. Because we are protected in living out this culture, we can pass on the faith traditions which become the fertile soil where our children can develop their own, mature assent to the Catholic faith.
The traditions of each liturgical season as well as daily Catholic traditions will define such a family culture. Observing with the family the disciplines of Lent and the observances of Holy Week and the Easter vigil; honoring Mother Mary during the month of May with an outside flower garden or an inside May altar; participating in a Corpus Christi procession with the church congregation and observing Advent as the preparation for the Birth of the Christ child which will be the cause and focus of our Christmas celebration are rich liturgical traditions.
In addition to the seasonal traditions “there are traditions embedded in the structure of Catholic family life, traditions that become the pulse of the household. There is the evening Rosary. The bowing at the name of Christ. The signs of the cross when passing a Catholic parish. The prayers before meals and bed time. The little family prayer table with candles, crucifix, and images of Our Lady and St. Francis. The visits to the Blessed Sacrament. The lighting of holy candles for prayer intentions. And all the other numerous little customs that make our lives uniquely Catholic.” Traditions help our children experience “the importance, the priority and the habit of living as faith-filled children of God.” Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4vzejn3u
In September, 2019 Pope Francis declared that the third Sunday in Ordinary Time would be the Sunday of the Word of God to reawaken in our lives the importance of scripture.
“To mark Word of God Sunday, Pope Francis leaves it up to parish communities to decide how it will be observed, but he noted that Masses should “highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord” and the honor that it is due. Pope Francis explained: “The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers, and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians.”
https://tinyurl.com/mwwyvwdr https://tinyurl.com/5y2cz7ua
In the United States the First Amendment to our Constitution protects the right of each citizen to choose his faith and to practice that faith openly, without persecution or retribution. The five First Amendment freedoms are the freedom to choose one’s faith, the right to practice that faith, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of redress…all supportive of the ability to worship, evangelize, assemble to worship, and redress the government in case of grievances against religious freedom. Our first amendment is critical to many of the functions of a free people, but our founders placed religious freedom first to emphasize its importance.
Reading the Bible, teaching its lessons and evangelizing the word of God are practices flowing from our rights, not to be taken for granted. Each year Word of God Sunday can remind us to exercise the right to free use of the Bible. Here is a link to suggestions for sharing the Word of God in our homes: https://tinyurl.com/bdz7jw3m
A wonderful and unique opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the Bible is to make a plan to see one of the volumes of the hand calligraphed St. John’s Bible on display at museums, universities, churches around the USA. This first Bible of its kind commissioned in over 500 years was the project of monks at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. From his scriptorium in Wales the calligraphy was done under the direction of Donald Jackson, the calligrapher to the Queen of England and to the Pope. There his team hand calligraphed the entire Bible and added 160 original illuminations. The pages open to two feet high by three feet wide.
Each location has its own viewing schedule: https://tinyurl.com/mry3asf7
The Anniversary of the Jan. 16, 1787 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
13 February, 1818: Letter from 2nd Pres. John Adams (Pres. from 1797-1801) “But what do We mean by the American Revolution? Do We mean the American War?” “The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the Minds and Hearts of the People. A Change in their Religious Sentiments of their Duties and Obligations. While the King, and all in Authority under him, were believed to govern, in Justice and Mercy according to the Laws and Constitutions derived to them from the God of Nature, and transmitted to them by their Ancestors— they thought themselves bound to pray for the King and Queen and all the Royal Family…ordained of God for their good.”
“But when they Saw those Powers renouncing all the Principles of Authority, and bent up on the destruction of all the Securities of their Lives, Liberties and Properties, they thought it their Duty to pray for the Continental Congress and all the thirteen State Congresses, &c.”
Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/yjhkrdrp https://tinyurl.com/p6zpummy
As our founding fathers and mothers and military warriors lead the patriot colonists through a revolution requiring unimaginable sacrifice, carnage and uncertainty, their reliance on the mercy and assistance of God was ever present. We have the records of their pleas for divine assistance and thanks for what they saw as miraculous interventions in moments of crisis.
This critical freedom of each American to pray…to choose their faith and their method of worship became our nation’s First Freedom, part of the compact among the individual states which formed the United States of America. The First Amendment to the Constitution explicitly protects these freedoms and is traceable to Thomas Jefferson’s writings in his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom passed on January 16, 1786. It protected Virginia citizens in their choice of religious beliefs and practice, assured that no taxes would be levied to benefit any religious sect, and that no man should suffer because of his religious beliefs.
The Virginia Statute was the basis for the First Amendment to the Constitution and was the basis for the Supreme Court’s understanding of religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson considered it his most important contribution to our founding and the prevention of tyranny.
New Year’s resolutions can be effective tools in enhancing the practice of our faith in a way that is open and joyous and in keeping with the 1st amendment freedom of religion which is our right as Americans.
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Attend Mass more than once a week
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Dress up for Sunday Mass, reflecting the solemnity of the Eucharist
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Visibly proclaim your Catholic faith with bumper magnets for Christmas and Easter, a favorite Bible verse, a church ministry message
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Wear your faith on your shoulder with a lapel pin of the Cross, of the Nativity or other Catholic symbols
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Mount a cross near your front door
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Display a Christmas or Easter scene on your lawn
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Say grace before meals at restaurants
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Organize a rosary in public witness for America outside your church or school
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Make a pilgrimage to one of the shrines of Our Blessed Mother, Mary
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Subscribe to the National Catholic Register and/or Our Sunday Visitor and share with other Catholics after you read it
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Encourage and participate in a Eucharistic procession in your community or combine with other churches to process in an appropriate location
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Plan a Sing-Along for God and Country at a local park with hymns and patriotic songs
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:3
Religious freedom in the United States is a right critical to all Americans as the basis for our laws and our culture. Our first amendment has two clauses making clear that our government may not establish one religion that all Americans must follow (the Establishment Clause) and that Americans are free to exercise their chosen religion without government interference (the Free Exercise clause.)
Every year the Christmas season brings with its religious celebrations, joy and festivities varying amounts of controversy. There are recurring discussions about the constitutionality of religious symbols of the season being displayed in schools, public buildings and public outdoor spaces. These discussions often focus on a community’s Christmas tree in the town square or park. There are a growing number of court decisions where the judges decided that a Christmas tree is a secular symbol of a holiday season celebrated by the vast majority of Americans and is not a religious symbol. A creche and menorah are considered by the courts to be religious symbols which can also be displayed in public schools, government buildings and public squares as long as they are presented along with secular items such as a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, reindeer, etc.
- Liberty Counsel’s attorneys defended the display of a Nativity Scene at the Jackson, IN Courthouse in 2021 in a precedent setting case that ruled the Nativity scene was not unconstitutional because it was part of the larger holiday display. Other victories by Liberty Counsel have restored more Nativity displays on public property, returned Christmas carols to the elderly who were not allowed to sing them in their nursing home, defeated a ban on students wearing red and green colors to school and stopping chorus directors from replacing religious lyrics in Christmas carols, etc.
Follow the links here to read more about the pro bono work done by these law firms to defend many aspects of religious freedom including the right to celebrate religious holidays as part of our shared community lives.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yyx8dtfk https://tinyurl.com/2r2xnyr9 https://tinyurl.com/5bzyzuw9
During the Christmas season in at least 43 of our state capitols, thousands of Americans encounter a nativity scene with the traditional figures of the Infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and the Christmas angel. Thanks to the St. Thomas More Society and the American Nativity Scene volunteers across America are bringing the Creche to prominent public spaces.
The American Nativity Scene Committee was formed with the goal of keeping Christ at the center of our Christmas celebration. Nativity scenes in front of our homes, churches and Catholic schools are outward reminders of God’s love for us and the wonder of His gift to mankind…the gift of His Son. In addition, a creche displayed in a public space often brings about public discussion and debate which is helpful to increase understanding of the rights of free speech and religious freedom.
Too much of our culture now rejects God, faith and religion and insists they be kept out of the public square of ideas and opinions. This reminder and affirmation of Christ’s coming, being born in a stable, sends the message of constancy, renewal of the world and salvation to many souls searching for deeper meaning and hope in their lives.
The American Nativity Scene also helps groups who want to place a crèche in other public, highly visible locations. To find the details go to AmericanNativityScene.com
American Nativity Scene works with attorneys at the Thomas More Society to make sure that groups wanting to sponsor a nativity scene are able to do so, as allowed by law. “Many erroneously assume that government entities are prohibited from allowing a religious display,” explained Thomas More Society Executive Vice President Thomas Olp. He continued, “The law is clear. Government entities may erect and maintain celebrations of the Christmas holiday—or allow citizens to do so on government property, including Nativity scenes, as long as a crèche’s sole purpose is not to promote its religious content, and it is placed in context with other symbols of the season as part of an effort to celebrate the public Christmas holiday through traditional symbols.”
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/26pm529s https://tinyurl.com/22phyjva
Christian parents and grandparents should expect to hear about Christmas activities at their children’s public schools and to welcome invitations to the school’s Christmas plays, concerts and art exhibits.
The two clauses of the First Amendment which deal directly with freedom of religion are the Establishment Clause (which directs that the government shall not impose a particular religious sect or belief) and the Free Exercise Clause (which directs the government not to interfere with citizens’ free exercise of their chosen faith.)
Repeated efforts to keep Christmas music, manger scenes, and all things to do with Christmas out of our public schools have actually resulted in many Supreme Court decisions which uphold the First Amendment rights of students to experience and learn the history and significance of Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza and other December holidays.
From the First Liberty Institute’s Religious Liberty Protection Kit for Students and Teachers – Pages 12, 13,14: For example, “a federal court held that a public school is allowed to celebrate Christmas (and other holidays with both religious and secular aspects) because doing so serves the educational goal of of advancing students’ knowledge and appreciation of the role that America’s religious heritage has played in the social, cultural and historical development of civilization.”
Also, students may study and perform religious music, art and drama “so long as it is presented in an objective manner as a traditional part of the culture and religious heritage of Christmas. In fact a federal court has held that to allow students only to study and not to participate in religious art, literature and music when such works have developed an independent secular and artistic significance, would give students a truncated view of our culture.”
Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/4xrh52d9 https://tinyurl.com/yc8kwazw
Thanksgiving Proclamation – excerpted [New York, 3 October 1789] By the President of the United States of America
The United States was blessed to be founded by many men and women of great faith. From the Declaration of Independence through the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the doctrine of natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the primacy of the Judeo-Christian ethos, and the belief in a final judgement for each individual are evident. It would then be expected that this new nation would turn in Thanksgiving to God and ask President George Washington to proclaim:
“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer …
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this country… for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; … and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
…and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed…To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, —and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.” Go: Washington
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/35kk3jz4
As we watch the process of the peaceful transfer of power following this presidential election, we sometimes hear politicians and citizens referring to God and providence and we hear prayers at various ceremonies. Because we are an exceptional nation, the only to be founded on gifts from our Creator, the natural rights of liberty and freedom, our founders knew America must remain a moral and religious people if these liberties were to thrive.
Before the founding of our nation, the men and women who met to determine the path to take toward victory over oppression routinely began their deliberations with prayer. The only uncertainty was which religious sect’s prayer should be used.
George Washington prepared his troops with military prowess and also in spiritual matters. He appointed chaplains and directed the officers to lead the men in prayer. He ordered Sunday rest and church attendance to nourish the faith of his troops.
Today’s inclusion of prayer before each session of Congress can be traced back to the colonial assemblies, the Second Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention
CFFR provides resources for learning and sharing the importance of religion in our nation:
Catholics For Freedom of Religion (CFFR) is dedicated to educating all Americans about the facts of First Amendment religious freedom - what it is, how dearly it was purchased for us and how quickly it can be lost. Through education, prayer and inspiration, each American is empowered to act, according to his conscience, to preserve religious liberty. CFFR has developed the following materials and programs to assist in this goal:
Empower Our Children: Students of Faith Our lesson empowers students, parents, and teachers by revealing that "Public Schools are not God-Free Zones!"
Student Video and Guide at www.cffor.org
Educational Bulletin Items: Focus on Religious Freedom Emailed weekly to parishes and individuals upon request through email to info@CatholicsforFreedomofReligion.org
Prayer for our country: Rosary for America Praying for the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of America, to protect each state and guide our leaders in accordance with our Judeo-Christian principles and the principles of our founders. Printable version at www.cffor.org
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/364xv3fn https://tinyurl.com/yt3ant45 https://tinyurl.com/42a4a74v
Every Administration, regardless of party, must be held accountable for protecting First Amendment Freedom of Religion which empowers each American to choose their faith and exercise it freely.
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.
From: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“[T]he common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights – for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture – is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with the maximum determination.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Christifideles Laici 38)
The Dignity of Marriage and Family
“The first setting in which faith enlightens the human city is the family. I think first and foremost of the stable union of man and woman in marriage. This union is born of their love, as a sign and presence of God’s own love, and of the acknowledgment and acceptance of the goodness of sexual differentiation, whereby spouses can become one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24) and are enabled to give birth to a new life, a manifestation of the Creator’s goodness, wisdom and loving plan.” (Pope Francis, Encyclical Lumen fidei 52)
Religious and Conscience Freedoms
“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. 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.” (Address of His Holiness, Benedict XVI; April 16, 2008; White House, Washington, D.C.)
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant...and then it seeks to silence good."
“To put it simply: Evil cannot bear the counter-witness of truth. It cannot co-exist peacefully with goodness, because evil insists on being seen as right, and worshiped as being right.” Archbishop Chaput, University of Toronto, 2009.
From the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II: “We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the `culture of death’ and the `culture of life’. ….we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.” Pope John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995), no. 28
On Mar. 13, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued an Apostolic Exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis, which speaks directly to each Catholic challenged to navigate the secular culture while holding to the teachings of the Catholic church.
Sacramentum Caritatis teaches us, “Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others,” he said, “it demands a public witness to our faith.” “Evidently, this is true for all the baptized, yet it is especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defense from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms.” “These values,” he said, “are not negotiable.” Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritas, (Vatican City, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007) Section 83
Once again the USCCB has affirmed in their document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship that even as we must do all we can to address the many ways human life is threatened, “abortion remains our pre-eminent priority as it directly attacks our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, destroying more than a million lives each year in our country alone.” Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, Introductory Letter, p.8. (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2024)
As we faithful Catholics go to the polls on November 5, we are called upon to put aside personal feelings and personality preferences and to exercise our well-formed consciences as we make our choices in public witness to the teachings of our faith.
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“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” ― Sir Winston Churchill
A seven year court battle ending with a Supreme Court victory would have been the very last competition a high school assistant football coach would have anticipated. One such coach, Coach Joe Kennedy of Bremerton High School, Bremerton WA, learned that his unsought battle to preserve his Constitutional rights to free speech and the exercise of his faith in public could benefit millions.
When Coach Kennedy made a personal commitment to give glory to God by kneeling in a silent, personal prayer on the 50 yard line after each game, his employer denied his right to pray in the view of the public and fired him for exercising his first amendment rights.
Although no students were asked or directed to join the coach in prayer, as confirmed by the district, some students did so. Even students from other teams, some visiting coaches and members of the public would join Coach Kennedy on the field for a brief, silent, individual prayer.
Coach Kennedy’s victory for religious freedom, which will benefit aspects of religious freedom for millions was achieved through his faith, determination and knowledge of religious freedom with support from his wife and his attorneys.
Coach Kennedy’s case, presented by First Liberty Institute attorneys, was heard by the Supreme Court which issued a 6-3 opinion on Jue 27, 2022 affirming Coach Kennedy could take a knee in silent prayer even if he can be seen by students and the public.
Con’t: https://tinyurl.com/3a73328b https://tinyurl.com/52tzsasc https://tinyurl.com/2nm4ywrd
See the movie “AVERAGE JOE” the story of Coach Kennedy in theatres as of 10-12-24
(RFRA) Religious Freedom Restoration Act
On Dec. 15, 1791, when the Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution to further protect the freedoms of individuals, the 1st Amendment’s protections of the right to be free from government-imposed religion and the right to freely exercise one’s chosen faith were deliberately the first of those freedoms. In 1993, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) directing more protection for the free exercise of faith, was introduced by then Rep. Charles Schumer and was unanimously passed by the House. The Senate passed it 97-3 and President Clinton signed the RFRA bill into law.
This extraordinary bipartisan support of religious freedom became the impetus for many states to pass their own RFRA to supplement the Federal RFRA when there was disagreement as to its applicability.
RFRA directed that the government could not “substantially burden” a person’s exercise of faith. The only exception is the existence of a compelling governmental issue in a particular situation and if the burden on the person’s faith was the least restrictive means possible to satisfy the compelling issue.
From our nation’s founding through the bipartisan passage of RFRA, our citizens have been empowered to follow their consciences. As we look for leaders who will support our 1st amendment and RFRA, we can ask candidates of all parties and party policy makers:
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What is your policy on abortion and euthanasia? Do you believe doctors should be mandated to perform abortions and trans-gender surgeries? What is your proposed time limit for abortion?
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Although the FACE Act was passed to protect abortion facilities and also pro-life centers and churches, why is the FACE Act invoked against Pro-Life Americans who are routinely arrested, fined and often imprisoned for peaceful demonstrations? Why have there been only a handful of charges filed regarding the 90 pro-life centers vandalized and fire-bombed and the 200 churches vandalized by pro-abortion activists since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v Wade?
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Do you support the questioning of judicial candidates about their membership in the Knights of Columbus in denial of Article VI of the Constitution forbidding any religious test for public office?
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Do you support the right of parents to educate their children about sexuality?
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Do you favor the repeal of RFRA?
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Do you support targeting of Catholics who attend the Latin Mass as potential terrorists?
Con’t: https://tinyurl.com/3wjxeam6 https://tinyurl.com/e33uw77s https://tinyurl.com/wxvmd3rb https://tinyurl.com/4zxvd5pb
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.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
