Free Republic

My bride and I each year travel to Indianapolis for the Gen Con gaming convention which this year will be held on the last week in July. Indianapolis is a lovely city and we have enjoyed our visits there. Back in 1926 an Indianapolis parish priest, John C. Rager, demonstrated that the core of the Declaration of Independence has its roots in Catholic thought. It will suffice for our purpose to consult, in detail, but two Catholic churchmen who stand out as leading lights for all time. The one is representative of medieval learning and thought, the other stood on...

 Fortnight for Freedom 2014The U.S. bishops have scheduled The Fortnight for Freedom: Freedom to Serve, which will take place from June 21 to July 4, 2014. This comes during the time when our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power – St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. The theme of this year’s Fortnight will focus on the freedom to serve the poor and vulnerable in accord with human dignity...

Blessed John Paul II: Champion of Religious Freedom Most Reverend William E. Lori, S.T.D. Address at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Washington, D.C. April 27, 2011Introduction“Ladies and gentlemen: On the threshold of a new millennium, we are witnessing an extraordinary global acceleration of that quest for freedom which is one of the great dynamics of human history. This phenomenon is not limited to any one part of the world; nor is it the expression of any single culture. Men and women throughout the world, even when threatened by violence, have taken the risk of freedom, asking to be given a...

Interesting reflections for a Constitution Day courtesy of remarks made by Pope John Paul II to President Reagan on September 10, 1987 during the Pope’s visit to the US: Mr President, 1. I am grateful for the great courtesy that you  extend to me by coming personally to meet me in this city of Miami. Thank you  for this gesture of kindness and respect. On my part I cordially greet you as the  elected Chief Executive of the United States of America. In addressing you I  express my own deep respect for the constitutional structure of this  democracy, which you are...

Challenging the Culture as We Celebrate Independence Day By Sister Constance Veit, l.s.p. When we observed the Fortnight for Freedom in 2012, I naively thought it would be a one-time event. I assumed that the HHS Contraceptive Mandate would soon be overturned and our congregation of Little Sisters of the Poor would quickly fall out of the public eye. But this month marks our third Fortnight, and our lawsuit against the federal government over the HHS Mandate is still pending as I write this. In May, a group of Little Sisters attended the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s annual...

America's Roman Catholic bishops just completed the "Fortnight for Freedom," a two-week period intended to "support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty." As evangelical and Catholic leaders have spent the past year opposing the Obama administration's so-called contraceptive mandate, the timing, motives, and agenda driving the "Fortnight for Freedom" have prompted widespread commentary. Rather than scrutinizing the Fortnight's agenda, Protestants could examine deeper questions than what took place on the surface. It's important to consider the Fortnight's placement on the calendar—the significance of the Fortnight's dates, June 21 to July 4—to understand the nature of...

Repair my house: renewing the roots of religious liberty   Threats against religious freedom in our country are not imaginary. They're happening right now. They're immediate, serious, and real. If we don't press now and vigorously for our religious liberty in the public arena, we will lose it. Archbishop of PhiladelphiaCharles J. Chaput, O.F.M. CAP. I've known Greg Erlandson as a friend for many years. So I was glad to accept his invitation to join you tonight. And I'm very glad to speak on the theme of religious liberty because events in our country have made it an urgent concern. I can sum up...

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, alongside Catholic Bishop Richard E. Pates of the Diocese of Des Moines, led more than 1,000 people Sunday afternoon from St. Ambrose Cathedral down Locust Street to the east side of the Iowa State Capitol in a celebration of religious freedom. The 1.7 mile march was part of a national Fortnight for Freedom a two-week campaign of prayer vigils and rallies aimed at drawing attention to what Catholic churches and other-faith based organizations consider government attacks on religious freedom. Ann Block, a Catholic who belongs to St. Francis Parish in West Des Moines, said she first...

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette is reporting that: "Two national religious organizations today will formally ask Bishop Robert J. McManus to reinstate Victoria Reggie Kennedy as the commencement speaker at Anna Maria College. The small Catholic liberal arts school in Paxton withdrew its invitation last month after the bishop raised concerns with college officials about positions taken by the widow of former U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on abortion, gay marriage, contraception and other social issues of interest to the church. The school has yet to announce a new speaker. Representatives of Catholic Democrats are expected to deliver a petition...

May 31, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Catholics in the United States should be prepared to engage in civil disobedience if the HHS mandate requiring employers to pay for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs is not rescinded, says a new document from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The USCCB released the one-pager as a bulletin insert to be distributed in Catholic Churches during June, in preparation for the Fortnight for Freedom, a two week period of prayer and fasting for the rescinding of the mandate. “Some unjust laws impose such injustices on individuals and organizations that disobeying the laws may...

Fortnight for Freedom   On April 12, the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a document, "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” outlining the bishops’ concerns over threats to religious freedom, both at home and abroad. The bishops called for a “Fortnight for Freedom,” a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4.Bishops in their own dioceses are encouraged to arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending religious freedom. Catholic institutions are encouraged to do the same, especially in cooperation with...

Archbishop: 'Fortnight' about religious freedom, not politics Jun. 14, 2012 By Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service   A woman joins about 1,000 other people at a June 8 religious freedom rally at the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Courthouse Building in Phoenix. (CNS/Catholic Sun/J.D. Long-Garcia) ATLANTA -- Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. bishops' "fortnight for freedom" campaign has come under heavy criticism in the secular media, in the blogosphere and by some Catholics as being a partisan political effort.But the two-week period is meant to be free of politics and will emphasize church teaching...

This speech was delivered last night in Indianapolis to a group of Catholic journalists on the eve of the “Fortnight for Freedom,” a national campaign of teaching, witness, and prayer against the abortifacient and contraceptive mandate and in favor or religious freedom. I’ve known Greg Erlandson as a friend for many years. So I was glad to accept his invitation to join you tonight. And I’m very glad to speak on the theme of religious liberty because events in our country have made it an urgent concern. I can sum up my remarks tonight in five simple points. First, religious...

Opening Mass for the Fortnight for Freedom Thurs. Jun. 21 at 7 PM ET & Fri. Jun. 22 at 12 AM ET From the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland, celebrated by His Excellency, William E. Lori Archbishop of Baltimore. The World Over with Raymond Arroyo Thurs. Jun. 21 at 8:30 PM ET, Fri., Jun. 22 at 1:30 AM ET, Sun. Jun. 24 at 4 PM ET, Mon. Jun. 25 at 10 AM & 10 PM ET A 60 minute special beginning immediately after the Baltimore Fortnight Mass. Also, look...

Here is minute and a half video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlRen8yzaw&feature=player_embedded The HHS Mandate is a direct attack on our first liberty and an assault on all people of faith. We MUST stand together to defeat it. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. St.John Fisher,pray for us! St.Thomas More,...

As readers of this column will know, I write often about religious freedoms in your country and even abroad. And lately there has been much in the news about how the healthcare overhaul instituted by the Obama Administration has affected those religious freedoms.Religious institutions, including Catholic schools, charities and hospital, are not exempt from the new healthcare mandate that requires employers to purchase contraception, including abortion-producing drugs, and sterilization coverage for their employees. Many have raised their voices in opposition to this requirement that religious institutions and individuals violate their own basic moral teaching in their health plans. Most of...