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San Antonio Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cant? hosted a forum for San Antonio's interfaith community. (Jordan McMorrough, Today's Catholic) |
Dioceses and parishes from across Texas enthusiastically participated in the success of the great national Fortnight for Freedom campaign to pray, learn, and advocate for religious liberty. Over fourteen days, from June 21 to July 4, Texas bishops led the faithful to Masses, prayer vigils, educational seminars, and other events in a prayerful response to a growing secular effort to stifle the voices of religious belief in public affairs.
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The Fortnight for Freedom was designed to reassert the importance of religious beliefs and convictions to the foundations of a moral and just society--not only through private worship, but also by countless organizations that put religious beliefs into practice: schools, shelters, adoption services, hospitals, disaster relief agencies, and many others. In recent months, the federal government has sought quash those services by demanding compliance with rules that violate religious beliefs at risk of violating law.
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Such demands have been deemed unacceptable from across religious traditions. Speaking at a Mass?that launched San Antonio?s Fortnight events, Archbishop Gustavo Garc?a-Siller proclaimed that as Catholics "we must never trade in the great treasure of our faith for the sake of an unjust peace or passing prosperity."
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?We must be bold in the face of the growing threats against our freedom and our vocation to be salt and light to the world. We cannot allow our faith and the fruit of our love to be criminalized. We must be willing to expose the worthless treasure of today?s culture that trades only in a temporary currency that will lose all of its value when the wind blows and its weak foundation crumbles,? Archbishop Garc?a-Siller said.
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To highlight the threat to people of all faiths, the Archdiocese of San Antonio also hosted an Interfaith celebration of Religious Liberty to prayerfully affirm the universal human right to religious liberty. Hosted by San Antonio Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cant?, the event brought together ecumenical leaders from Baha?i, Islam, Protestantism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jewish faiths. The event?s purpose was to prayerfully affirm the universal human right for each individual to seek God and follow one?s own conscience with the freedom to live their faith openly. In addition to prayers, the event featured recitation of quotes from George Washington, Pope Paul VI, Louis D. Brandeis, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, among others.
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In the Diocese of Fort Worth, Bishop Kevin Vann took up the call for to religious liberty to youth attending the Knights of Columbus' State Squire Convention at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Keller. Bishop Vann impressed upon the Columbian Squires, an international youth group of the Knights of Columbus, that Catholics have faced persecution throughout the history of our nation. He noted that the Knights were Catholic laymen organized by the Venerable Father Michael McGivney in response to the discrimination against Irish Catholic immigrants who, upon arriving to this country, demanded a right to live their faith openly and freely.
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?Father McGivney saw Catholics who came to this country to freely practice their religion weren?t really free in many ways,? Bishop Vann explained. ?There was anti-Catholic prejudice, and society tried to restrict Catholic families, especially the poor and widows who lost their husbands during the Industrial Revolution.?
Many Texas dioceses found inspiration for the Fortnight for Freedom commemorations in the Mexican Cristeros? battle for religious liberty depicted in the recently released movie For Greater Glory. In Corpus Christi, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi emphasized that the basic rights bestowed and cherished by Americans are not always guaranteed and must be constantly advocated for by the people.
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Watch Julie Aftab, a client at Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston, relate her experiences with religious oppression. (Louise Kelly, Texas Catholic Herald)? |
?To be sure, we do not face today the mortal threats that these martyrs endured. We must be mindful, however, that it is not uncommon that rights in this country have often been won incrementally, and no doubt they can be lost in the same manner,? said Bishop Mulvey.
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In San Antonio, relics from the saints who participated in the uprisings for religious freedom were put on display and venerated in the weeks following the movie's premiere.
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In the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo wrapped up the Fortnight for Freedom events with an Independence Day mass at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. In his homily, Cardinal reiterated that true freedom is bestowed on up by God, not man.
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?One of the reasons that we?ve been reflecting for fourteen days on our religious liberty is that religious liberty is not something given once for all,? said Cardinal DiNardo during the homily. ?There are many people who would be very pleased to define religious liberty as freedom of worship?. They say they want to put things in a new light. I want to respond to that by saying that they want to dim the light.? He emphasized the narrowness of the Health and Human Service Mandate?s religious exemption, and stated that not even Jesus and his apostles would fit into the description.
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The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston also highlighted the need to protect religious liberty internationally as well as in America by sharing the story of Julie Aftab, a 25-year-old Catholic Charities client who faced violent oppression in her native Pakistan due to her religious beliefs.
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In an Independence Day article to his flock, Bishop Michael Pfeifer of the Diocese of San Angelo underscored the Bishops? intention and goals of the Fortnight.
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Crowds rallied in El Paso?s San Jacinto Plaza to support for religious freedom and to oppose the HHS Mandate. (Christ Chavez, Rio Grande Catholic)? |
?Let it be said loudly and clearly as regards this issue ? that we do not seek a sacred public square which gives special privileges and benefits to religious citizens. Rather, we seek a civil public square, where all citizens can make their contributions to the common good. Never before has the federal government used its power to violate religious liberty in the way it is happening now, insisting that religious organizations pay for programs that violate their moral convictions.? Bishop Pfeifer also highlighted the words of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, who ten years after the Declaration of Independence wrote, ?To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.?
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Though the Fortnight is over, our conscience concerns have not been resolved and we continue to advocate for appropriate religious protections to be granted or ensured by any branch of the Federal government. The Bishops urge passage of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act and support the lawsuits of several Catholic organizations, including the Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth, challenging the Health and Human Services mandate?s violation of the first amendment.
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