A Fortnight? What's that all about?

Fortnight for Religious Freedom, what’s that all about?  It sounds pretty old fashioned, doesn’t it?

Well, to a certain extent it is. “Fortnight” comes from old English and means 14 days or 2 weeks.  I think someone with the US Bishop’s Conference thought it was a clever use of the word.  What these two weeks are about though are very modern and very important to us.  

The two weeks begin with the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More.  (St. John was an English bishop and Thomas was a lawyer and had served as Chancellor under King Henry VIII.  To make a long story very short: Henry wanted to marry Anne, but could not get an annulment, so he did it anyway declaring authority over the Church and forcing everyone to sign a pledge to affirm his decision.  John Fisher and Thomas More both refused to do so and were beheaded for their troubles.) The closing is July 4, the day of our nation’s independence.

There have been some attempts in the United States to encroach on this freedom.  This is of concern because religious liberty is one of the great hallmarks of our country from the very beginning.  The Supreme Court has upheld this liberty, as recently as this past January when they ruled 9-0 against the administration’s attempts to dictate the hiring practices of a religious school.  

This is not a time of prayer for the Catholic Church takeover of the US government.  That is not the role or desire of the Church.  It is a time to celebrate this very special right and to ask God’s protection of it. The US Bishops have put together some resources for these two weeks, including a daily study on the Church’s teaching of religious liberty.  You can find them here:  http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/index.cfm

Also, there is a prayer that we are encouraged to pray each day.  Here is a copy of that: 

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,

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.

For over 200 years, religious groups have had the ability to preach the gospel, to practice their religion and to participate in the democratic process freely.  Let us pray that that tradition continues.