United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The opening paragraph
of one of the finest documents issued by the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops declares:
We are Catholics. We
are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is
ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours
as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to
choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be
contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our
Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the
common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding
and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the
right to contribute to our common life together.
Subsequently in that documents the bishops propose that we
observe a “Fortnight For Freedom:”
We suggest that the
fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St.
Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, be 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 would emphasize both our Christian and American
heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country could choose a
date in that period for special events that would constitute a great national
campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.
For more information and to read the full document I urge
you to visit:
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