Fortnight for Freedom Day Two

Religious liberty in many countries of the world is under attack. It continues to be under threat in the United States.  Some example of this threat in the United states are:

--HHS mandates for sterilization, artificial birth control, and abortion-inducing drugs.

--The government attack on and closing down of Catholic foster care and adoptive services for their refusal to release children to same sex couples.

--State laws that penalize Catholic charities for giving Christian charity to undocumented immigrants.

--Discrimination against small church organizations who desire to use public buildings.

--Discrimination against Christian based groups at certain universities.

See the USCCB fact sheet on Current Threats to Religious Freedom.


"When, in the name of an ideology, there is an attempt to remove God from society, it ends up adoring idols, and very soon men and women lose their way, their dignity is trampled and their rights are violated." Pope Francis, Address in Albania, September 23, 2014

O GOD OUR CREATOR,
from Your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You have called us as Your people and given us the right and the duty to worship You, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.  Through the power and the 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.

Prayer and image: Copyright 2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.