4th Fortnight for Freedom begins
June 23, 2015
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has begun its fourth annual observance of the Fortnight for Freedom to raise awareness of threats to religious liberty. This year’s theme is “the freedom to bear witness.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore opened the fortnight at a June 21 Mass celebrated in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Recalling the Coptic Christians who were slain in Libya, he preached that “we should be inspired by their courage and renewed in our resolve not to let religious freedom in our country [or] be compromised by degrees until it all but disappears from our society.”
“Religious institutions in the United States are in danger of losing their freedom to hire for mission and their freedom to defend the family,” Archbishop Lori continued. “Endangered is the freedom of Church ministries to provide employee benefits and to provide adoptions and refugee services in accord with the Church’s teaching on faith and morals.
“It is one thing for others to disagree with the Church’s teaching but quite another to discriminate against the rights of believers to practice our faith, not just in word but in the way we conduct our daily life, ministry and business,” he added.
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Further information:
- Archbishop Lori begins Fortnight for Freedom with Gospel connection (Catholic Review)
- Fortnight for Freedom (USCCB)
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