June 19, 2013

Catholics of the Diocese of Ogdensburg will participate in a second Fortnight for Freedom, June 21 to July 4.

As in 2102, the bishops of the United States have issued a call to 14 days of prayer, action, and study for religious freedom in the United States and abroad.

Bishop Terry R. LaValley will mark the fortnight during a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral June 30 at 11 a.m., open to anyone who would like to pray for religious freedom.

In a letter about the Fortnight for Freedom, Bishop LaValley wrote the 2013 fortnight is particularly important because the HHS contraceptive mandate goes into effect Aug. 1.

“Religious employers, including Catholic Charities and St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in our diocese, are not receiving the relief we need through the regulatory process,” the bishop said. “It is important to keep up public pressure on this issue.

“Additionally, it is important to perpetuate a movement for life, marriage and religious liberty, highlighting the full range of ongoing religious liberty issues in so many areas of law, such as immigration, adoption and disaster relief,” Bishop LaValley said. “Similarly, it is important to show that our Fortnight for Freedom is not tied to any election year, but is tied to the broader principle of religious liberty.”

Bishop LaValley has encouraged every parish to sponsor Eucharistic Adoration, special devotions and catechetical sessions as part of national Fortnight for Freedom. He also requested that a special prayer for religious liberty be included at prayers of the faithful at parish daily Masses.

Resources for observing the fortnight are available on the diocesan website (http://rcdony.org/Fortnight) and at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Catholics in the United States have long advocated for religious freedom, and it is our duty and right to continue those efforts today,” Bishop LaValley said. “Please join me and Catholics throughout the United States as we pray for a new birth of religious freedom in our country and a greater recognition and appreciation for the contributions of religious groups to this great nation.”