The seven bishops based in Florida on Thursday called for Catholics in the Sunshine State to pray and ponder the role of religion in the public square.
The Catholic leadership in the Sunshine State -- Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Bishop Gerald Barbarito of Palm Beach, Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Bishop John Noonan of Orlando, Bishop Felipe Estez of St. Augustine, and Bishop Gregory Parks of Pensacola-Tallahassee -- unveiled the Fortnight for Freedom which will run from June 21-July 4. During that time, they called upon Catholics to dwell on the recent challenges to religious freedom and help ensure the ongoing protection of religious liberty.
The bishops released a statement on Thursday as they announced the two-week event.
As bishops, we are called to be authentic teachers of our faith and steadfast witnesses to the love of Christ, even in the face of controversy and great debate," the bishops noted. It is this responsibility that moves us to jointly and urgently appeal to the Catholic faithful and others of good will to stand together to preserve and protect our human and civil right to religious freedom, which is being diminished and marginalized today on many fronts.
In a footnote to their statement, the bishops took aim at both the political left and the right as possible hazards to religion in the public square. While the bishops jabbed the right on abortion, they hammered the left on a number of fronts including abortion and the role of the federal government in services provided by Church-affiliated organizations. The bishops included the Obama administration's attempts to force Catholic-affiliated health services to provide birth-control as one of the threats to religious liberty.
Some recent threats to religious freedom include the HHS mandate to provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception; forcing Catholic foster care and adoption services to shut down for refusal to place children with same-sex couples; state immigration laws that forbid pastoral care of undocumented immigrants; discrimination against Catholic humanitarian services for victims of human trafficking for refusal to refer for abortion services, the bishops maintained.
Noting the threats, the bishops called for Catholics to remember the importance of religious freedom.
Religious freedom is our first civil freedom first in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, the bishops insisted. This sacred right belongs to us all. It is the basis of our democracy and the very reason that early settlers fled to our protecting shores. We must never take for granted this right for which so many before us fought and gave their lives.
The bishops are calling for Catholics to pray and fast during the two weeks and to brush up on Amendment 8, the proposed constitutional change that will be on the ballot in November which would protect religious organizations that provide services to the public from being forced by the government to compromise their beliefs.
Our faith inspires us to protect all human life, promote the dignity of every soul and serve those in need no matter who and where they are, and whether they follow our same faith or have no faith at all, the bishops insisted. The Gospel demands that we act on our core beliefs. If we can no longer practice our faith as we see it, but only as others do, the common good and our American way of life is at risk.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
