Fortnight for Freedom in the Pacific Northwest

Usually, it's somewhat amusing to listen and read reports from within the liberal ranks of the secular media when it comes to their clumsy and ill-informed analysis of matters pertaining to faith--Washington Post, for example.  Many don't even seem to have a working knowledge of the Bible in terms of its mere literary value; it's a stinging indictment  on the state of public education when the media gets away with so much.  The reporting is so exceedingly poor and biased lately on these issues that I find myself turning more and more to conservative networks such as Fox News or Catholic networks such as EWTN.  After NBC's recent creative soudbite editing, Raymond Arroyo is a breath of fresh air.


This brings us to The Fortnight for Freedom, a 2-week event from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Below is an excerpt from their site on the aim and goal for this endeavor.


The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome.  Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.


With our eyes on the Supreme Court this week, I hope Catholics will remember the fight for religious freedom and stand up for what is right and just.  As Saint John the Baptist stood up against King Herod and as Saint Thomas Moore (an ancestor of my wife, by the way) stood up against the outrageous claims of King Henry VIII, we're also responsible for standing up today for what is right and just and should be capable of articulating and defending the Church's position concerning the sanctity of all human life--from conception through natural death.  If you don't believe this...then you're not really Catholic at heart.  You may be a "cultural Catholic," but if it's not rooted in your heart, you might as well join the local Elk's Club.  Sanctity of life is a fundamental and non-negotiable component of the Catholic tradition.  (For an insight into my feelings on Obama Care, see the following letter to the editor from This Rock.  Please also see The Coercive Attack on Free Speech.)


If you haven't already seen it, I invite you to watch this well done video, Test of Fire.  I hope and pray you will do what's right and take a stand for religious liberty this election season.