The U.S. Bishops on Religious Freedom

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently came out with a strong statement on the Church in America and her commitment to religious liberty. Recent threats to religious liberty, such as the HHS mandate for contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs, call for serious concern and action from all American Catholics. Even Pope Benedict XVI commented on the American government’s violations of religious freedom, the “most cherished of American freedoms.”
 
The USCCB statement begins:

We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together.

In the end, the bishops ask that all religious and lay faithful stand up for religious freedom and be bold in the face of unjust laws. They also call for “A Fortnight for Freedom,” a special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action from June 21 to July 4 “emphasizing both our Christian and American heritage of liberty.”


Please join the bishops in this urgent prayer for religious liberty:

Almighty God, Father of all nations,
For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
By your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.