Second “Fortnight for Freedom” June 21- July 4
Bishop Provost will also be one of a number speakers at the “Rally for Freedom” held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 22, in Sulphur’s Heritage Square. Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church and the Diocese of Lake Charles are sponsors of the event as well as Sulphur Mayor Chris Duncan and the City of Sulphur.
Others scheduled to speak include 14th Judicial District Judges, the Honorable D. Kent Savoie and the Honorable David A. Ritchie; Veronica Allison, Sulphur City Council president; Sulphur Mayor Chris Duncan, Sulphur City Prosecutor Jennifer Page; and Rev. Ronnie Burke, pastor of Maplewood First Baptist Church. Call Dan Foreman at 515-5812 for additional information on the Rally for Freedom in Sulphur.
The nationwide Fortnight for Freedom starts on the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More - Friday, June 21 - and continues to Independence Day - July 4.
Last year’s inaugural event, called for by the bishops of the United States, saw a great diversity of events across the country and in 2013, the Church and its faithful continue to face many challenges to religious liberty, including the August 1, the deadline for religious organizations to comply with the Health and Human Services mandate. There are also potential Supreme Court rulings that could redefine marriage in June, causing serious religious liberty issues for Catholic adoption agencies and many others; and religious liberty concerns in other areas, such as immigration and humanitarian services. Other recent religious freedom issues that have come to light include the Department of Defense (DOD) listing of the Catholic Church as a terror threat along with such organizations as El Qaeda, Evangelical Christians, the Ku Klux Klan and Sunni Muslims as well as others or the recent prohibition from the DOD on chaplains in the military proselytizing. Print a letter from Archdiocese of the Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio on religious freedom at http://www.milarch.org/atf/cf/%7B1AF42501-01D5-4EF8-BA48-4450AC27EF98%7D/letterReligiousFreedom23MAY12.pdf.
During the Fortnight, the liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, St. John Fisher, and St. Thomas More. Through prayer, study, and peaceful public during this year’s Fortnight for Freedom, we hope to remind ourselves and others all throughout the United States about the importance of preserving the fundamental right of religious freedom.
The 2013 Fortnight for Freedom is part of a movement for life, marriage and religious liberty launched by the U.S. Catholic Bishops that addresses critical life, marriage, and religious liberty concerns. The five-part strategy, or call to prayer, for this year was approved by the bishops in November and began after Christmas 2012. The overall focus was to invite Catholics to pray for rebuilding a culture favorable to life and marriage and for increased protections of religious liberty.
Campaign components included monthly Eucharistic holy hours in cathedrals and parishes, daily family rosary, special Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses, fasting and abstinence on Fridays, and the second observance of a Fortnight for Freedom.
