Browsing articles tagged with " Conference Of Catholic Bishops"
Vatican II’s Bible promotion said to create vitality in church life
Published:
NEW YORK (CNS) — In the 50 years since the Second Vatican Council encouraged Catholics to read, reflect and act on Scripture, there has been a “surging vitality in the life of the church,” according to Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. “There is nothing that the church does that is not rooted in Scripture,” he told participants at the New York Catholic Bible Summit June 16. Cardinal Turkson gave the English keynote address at the bilingual conference. More than 500 people from three states attended the third annual daylong event at the New York Catholic Center. Mexican Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, president of the Latin American bishops’ council, delivered the Spanish keynote. “The Bible is a means of letting the solo tune of Jesus fill the whole symphony of human history,” Cardinal Turkson said. Listeners nodded in agreement when Cardinal Turkson said it was unusual for Catholics to open a Bible before Vatican II. They listened to the word of God at Mass and heard it explained in homilies and the catechism, he said. “Dei Verbum,” the council’s document on divine revelation, opened Bible ministry to Catholics and urged them to be informed Christians by venerating God’s word. “The Bible is one of the gifts that God has given to the church,” he said.
Copyright (c) Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .
Enlarge Tami Chappell/Reuters/Landov
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York brandishes a foam finger promoting the “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign last week.
Tami Chappell/Reuters/Landov
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York brandishes a foam finger promoting the “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign last week.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launches what it’s calling the “Fortnight for Freedom” on Thursday — two weeks of praying and fasting because the bishops believe the church’s religious freedom is being threatened by the Obama administration’s health care policies.
“This is the first time that I’ve felt personally attacked by my government,” parishioner Kathleen Burke says after a service at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bethesda, Md.
At stake, Burke says, is the federal health care law, which requires religious universities, hospitals and charities to offer insurance plans that cover birth control — an issue the Catholic faith opposes.
Another parishioner, Tom Shuler, says the government has always made exceptions for religious organizations to adhere to their beliefs, until now.
“The Obama administration and all of the accompanying executives there are clearly anti-religious,” Shuler says.
He accuses the White House of imposing a secular worldview and narrowing the definition of a religious organization. “Lookit, Mother Teresa could not operate in the United States,” Shuler says. “Jesus could not operate in the United States right now.”
His wife, Jamie, is delighted the bishops are fighting back. “Obama has brought this on himself,” she says. “If he doesn’t want to play with fire, then don’t light the match.”
Advocating Religious Liberty With Strong Rhetoric
The Fortnight for Freedom campaign, which runs through July 4, includes special Masses and sermons devoted to the theme. Radio spots and videos produced by the bishops conference accuse the Obama administration of taking “the first step to deny religious liberty.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who is heading the campaign, says the bishops have a simple goal. “We’re trying to protect our institutions and our fundamental freedoms as individuals,” he says, “and so this seemed to be the moment that we have to draw the line in the sand.”
Enlarge Jessica Hill/AP
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, shown speaking at the state Capitol in Hartford, Conn., in 2009, is the head of the U.S. bishops’ Fortnight for Freedom campaign.
Jessica Hill/AP
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, shown speaking at the state Capitol in Hartford, Conn., in 2009, is the head of the U.S. bishops’ Fortnight for Freedom campaign.
The rhetoric is pretty strong. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who leads the bishops conference, says the White House is “strangling” the church. The bishop of Oakland warns of “despotism.” And then there was an April sermon by the bishop of Peoria, Ill., Daniel Jenky.
“Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open,” Jenky says in the video, adding that the dictators would not allow the church to compete in education, social services or health care.
“President Obama with his radical pro-abortion and extreme secularist agenda now seems intent on following a similar path,” he says.
Lori says the times call for blunt language.
“Sometimes prophets are thought to be unduly alarmist, and sometimes their speech is a little bit strong,” the archbishop says. “But that’s what prophetic speech always has been.”
He contends Catholics are fully behind the campaign, dismissing a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute that found 57 percent of Catholics are not worried about their religious liberties.
A Plea For Nonpartisan Preaching
Marion McCartney, who attends the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., opposes the bishops’ campaign. She’s part of a group, Blessed Sacrament Families United in Faith and Action, that wrote a letter to its pastor, saying the partisan nature of the campaign is “a step too far.”
“Nobody’s religious freedom is at stake. That’s just ridiculous!” McCartney says. Is “[Health and Human Services Secretary] Kathleen Sebelius going to come and close all the church doors? I mean, it’s just foolishness.”
Another member of that group is Jim Zogby, who has worked on human-rights issues overseas. He says the U.S. bishops were spoiling for a fight over social issues with the Obama administration.
“They declared war on the administration, and we the faithful are paying the price for it,” Zogby says. “Our religious freedom, our ability to simply go to church, worship, feel a community, feel safe in that community” has been compromised.
“We’re now being put in the middle of a partisan fight, and that’s wrong.”
His wife, Eileen, says Blessed Sacrament, with its mix of liberals and conservatives, has always put politics aside. Not now. At a recent parish meeting about religious freedom, people began attacking President Obama, she says, getting more and more heated.
Nobody’s religious freedom is at stake That’s just ridiculous!
- Marion McCartney, parishioner at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C.
“Until finally one person leaned forward and he said, ‘Well, I have seen cars in our parking lot with Obama stickers on them, and they are complicit in all of this.’ And I thought, ‘Well I guess I’m not welcome here, because I have an Obama sticker on my car.’ “
University of Notre Dame historian Scott Appleby says the bishops have lost credibility with many Catholics. There is a valid concern about the health care law, he says, but many Catholics aren’t listening because they’re unhappy about the sex abuse crisis and the Vatican’s investigation of a group of nuns called the Catholic Sisters of America.
“Many Catholics are thinking, ‘Well there they go again,’ ” Appleby says. “That’s unfair in this situation, but it’s understandable because the bishops have been perceived to have made one wrong turn after another for at least the last decade.”
Some Catholics are also uncomfortable with the timing of the Fortnight for Freedom campaign, coming just a few months before a presidential election. Lori says the White House started it.
“We did not go looking for a fight in an election year,” he says. “It was handed to us.”
The archbishop adds that if they don’t act now, it will be too late.
By Alan Duke, CNN
(CNN) – The University of Notre Dame and “a diverse group of plaintiffs” filed lawsuits Monday challenging the federal mandate that religious employers offer health insurance that includes coverage of contraceptives and birth control services, Notre Dame spokeswoman Shannon Chapla said.
The Notre Dame suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern Indiana, is one of a dozen filed Monday by 43 separate Catholic institutions in different federal courts around the United States, Chapla said.
The lawsuits are efforts to “vindicate the country’s constitutional and traditional commitments to religious freedom and pluralism,” Notre Dame law professor Richard W. Garnett said in a university statement.
The Catholic Church teaches that use of contraception is morally wrong.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuits Monday.
The Obama administration, in an attempt at a compromise, revised the rule to require health insurance companies – not employers – to provide contraception coverage, mollifying some Catholic critics. Other Catholic groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are not satisfied by the revised rule.
The suits contend that the regulations violate of the First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and other federal laws.
“This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives,” Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a message to his school. “For if we concede that the government can decide which religious organizations are sufficiently religious to be awarded the freedom to follow the principles that define their mission, then we have begun to walk down a path that ultimately leads to the undermining of those institutions.”
The Archdiocese of Washington joined in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday. The plaintiffs also include Archbishop Carroll High School; Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington; the Consortium of Catholic Academies of the Archdiocese of Washington; and The Catholic University of America.
“There is no way out of the dilemma the mandate forces upon us,” Washington Archdiocese Chancellor Jane Belford said. “Catholic schools, universities, hospitals and social service ministries employ and serve millions of people in this country and do so without regard to their religious beliefs. Under the government’s new rules, religious organizations will face an impossible choice.”
–CNN’s Tom Cohen contributed to this report.
America’s Kevin Clarke broke some news about a possible rift among US bishops and their handling of the religious liberty question. The Washington Post’s EJ Dionne picked up on the issue:
It turns out that many bishops, notably the church leadership in California, saw the litigation as premature. They are upset that the lawsuits were brought without a broader discussion among the entire membership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and wanted to delay action until the conference’s June meeting.
Until now, bishops who believed that their leadership was aligning the institutional church too closely with the political right had voiced their doubts internally. While the more moderate and liberal bishops kept their qualms out of public view, conservative bishops have been outspoken in condemning the Obama administration and pushing a “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign aimed at highlighting “threats to religious freedom, both at home and abroad.”
But in recent months, a series of events — among them the Vatican’s rebuke of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, encouraged by right-wing U.S. bishops — have angered more progressive Catholics and led to talk among the disgruntled faithful of the need for a “Catholic spring” to challenge the hierarchy’s shift to the right.
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., broke the silence on his side Tuesday in an interview with Kevin Clarke of the Jesuit magazine America. Blaire expressed concern that some groups “very far to the right” are turning the controversy over the contraception rules into “an anti-Obama campaign.”
“I think there are different groups that are trying to co-opt this and make it into [a] political issue, and that’s why we need to have a deeper discussion as bishops,” he said. “I think our rhetoric has to be that of bishops of the church who are seeking to be faithful to the Gospel, that our one concern is that we make sure the church is free to carry out her mission as given to her by Christ, and that remains our focus.”
Dionne writes that more dissent within the ranks of US bishops would be a healthy development both for the church and American politics. Given the tremendous diversity of the Catholic Church in the US, I have found it difficult to believe that there is not some fissure in the outward unity among US bishops.
It will be interesting to see which dioceses participate next month in the US Bishops Conference’s Fortnight for Freedom campaign, “a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4.” Fewer than 20 dioceses are listed on the USCCB webpage that offers examples of activities around the nation.
Do you think internal debate and public dissent is healthy for the church? Will you participate in a Fortnight activity? Do you see the effort as underhanded electioneering for the GOP, or as an effective way for Catholics to resist true incursions of their religious freedom? If your bishop were to ask you to rank the top five issues facing Catholics in the US today, would religious freedom rank among them?
Michael J. O’Loughlin
America’s Kevin Clarke broke some news about a possible rift among US bishops and their handling of the religious liberty question. The Washington Post’s EJ Dionne picked up on the issue:
It turns out that many bishops, notably the church leadership in California, saw the litigation as premature. They are upset that the lawsuits were brought without a broader discussion among the entire membership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and wanted to delay action until the conference’s June meeting.
Until now, bishops who believed that their leadership was aligning the institutional church too closely with the political right had voiced their doubts internally. While the more moderate and liberal bishops kept their qualms out of public view, conservative bishops have been outspoken in condemning the Obama administration and pushing a “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign aimed at highlighting “threats to religious freedom, both at home and abroad.”
But in recent months, a series of events — among them the Vatican’s rebuke of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, encouraged by right-wing U.S. bishops — have angered more progressive Catholics and led to talk among the disgruntled faithful of the need for a “Catholic spring” to challenge the hierarchy’s shift to the right.
Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., broke the silence on his side Tuesday in an interview with Kevin Clarke of the Jesuit magazine America. Blaire expressed concern that some groups “very far to the right” are turning the controversy over the contraception rules into “an anti-Obama campaign.”
“I think there are different groups that are trying to co-opt this and make it into [a] political issue, and that’s why we need to have a deeper discussion as bishops,” he said. “I think our rhetoric has to be that of bishops of the church who are seeking to be faithful to the Gospel, that our one concern is that we make sure the church is free to carry out her mission as given to her by Christ, and that remains our focus.”
Dionne writes that more dissent within the ranks of US bishops would be a healthy development both for the church and American politics. Given the tremendous diversity of the Catholic Church in the US, I have found it difficult to believe that there is not some fissure in the outward unity among US bishops.
It will be interesting to see which dioceses participate next month in the US Bishops Conference’s Fortnight for Freedom campaign, “a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4.” Fewer than 20 dioceses are listed on the USCCB webpage that offers examples of activities around the nation.
Do you think internal debate and public dissent is healthy for the church? Will you participate in a Fortnight activity? Do you see the effort as underhanded electioneering for the GOP, or as an effective way for Catholics to resist true incursions of their religious freedom? If your bishop were to ask you to rank the top five issues facing Catholics in the US today, would religious freedom rank among them?
Michael J. O’Loughlin
WASHINGTON — Last September, the U.S. bishops struggled to raise awareness about an “interim final rule” for co-pay-free contraception, approved by the Obama administration in August 2011.
Now, in the wake of 43 Catholic groups filing 12 lawsuits across the nation on May 21, recent polling confirms that the controversial federal rule, approved Jan. 20, has emerged as an election issue. Public opposition has mounted against the controversial rule, while partisan forces and their media allies argue that Catholic leaders are “carrying water” for the GOP.
Last week, when Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., expressed alarm about the danger of politicizing the Church’s First Amendment fight, his comments in a small Catholic journal fueled news stories about divisions within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Bishop Blaire later clarified his remarks, stating that he endorsed the legal strategy worked out by the USCCB. But the flurry of headlines prompted by his remarks showed that the bishops’ campaign was under intense scrutiny.
On Sunday, The New York Times’ editorial page attacked the decision to approve the 12 lawsuits.
“It was a dramatic stunt, full of indignation but built on air,” read the May 27 editorial, which concluded that the legal strategy was “a clear partisan play.”
The editorial argued that the federal law “could probably be justified under Supreme Court precedent, including a 1990 opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia” — a reference to a much-discussed Supreme Court ruling broadly viewed as weakening First Amendment rights.
“But that argument does not have to be made in court, because Mr. Obama very publicly backed down from his original position and gave those groups a way around the contraception-coverage requirement,” noted the Times, repeating the administration’s assertion that its Feb. 10 “accommodation” effectively addressed the concerns of objecting religious groups.
During a May 24 address at a high-level conference on religious freedom in Washington that drew constitutional scholars, religious leaders, legislators and activists, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, defended the bishops’ decision to approve the 12 lawsuits.
Archbishop Lori noted that the lawsuits marked a necessary, if unwelcome phase in the U.S. bishops’ effort to address an “unprecedented” threat to the free exercise of Catholic institutions. In other words, the lawsuits were not frivolous, but a last resort.
Throughout 2010 and 2011, he noted, the USCCB pursued a parallel strategy of influencing the Obama administration’s health-care policies and promoting legislative remedies to broaden conscience rights.
During that period, the conference sought to counter a campaign to include contraception and abortion-inducing drugs in mandated “preventive services” for women under the new health bill.
“Despite these numerous opportunities to avoid the train wreck, on Feb. 10, HHS finalized the August regulations ‘without change,’ closing the door on any chance of removing the offending items from the mandate or expanding the exemption,” stated Archbishop Lori, making the point that the bishops’ conference sought to head off the church-state contest well ahead of the presidential election.
Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., a speaker at the Washington conference, summarized the judgment of most bishops when he told the Register, I don’t think we can bank of getting concessions from the Obama administration, though we can hope.”
‘Bizarre Turn’
While some bishops have focused on the HHS mandate’s narrow religious exemption, which does not shield Catholic hospitals, universities and social agencies, Archbishop Lori stressed that the fight was also about resisting unlawful government coercion.
“In a bizarre turn, those same advocates accuse the Church of somehow forcing its beliefs on others through the law, when the exact opposite is true,” he said.
The “strange inversion” of this dispute, he suggested, reflected a shift in cultural values.
This confusion, he added, “underscores the depth of the problem we face and points to the long-term remedy for it, which is teaching about religious freedom.”
Most speakers at the May 24 conference, hosted by the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington-based research center, shared Archbishop Lori’s harsh judgment of the HHS mandate.
But one speaker, William Galston of the Brookings Institution, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, expressed skepticism about the need for passionate rhetoric and legal challenges.
“The Church, in my judgment, is not conducting a ‘war on women,’ and the Obama administration is not conducting a war on religion,” Galston told the conference audience.
In the United States, he added, “there is no guarantee that the requirements of religion and faith will be fully compatible” with democratic society.
Galston’s remarks underscored the uncertain outcome for the 12 lawsuits filed last week.
Constitutional scholars report that U.S. federal courts are notoriously fickle in their rulings on First Amendment cases, and experts predict that the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act will provide a better standard for the Catholic plaintiffs in the 12 lawsuits filed last week.
And while conference speakers like Robert George of Princeton University and Hannah Smith of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, provided a compelling framework for evaluating threats to religious freedom at home and abroad, Archbishop Lori acknowledged that Catholic leaders must continue to advance their case in the public square. A Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll, conducted in mid-May, found that just 50% of respondents knew about the HHS mandate fight, though 74% of those polled believed that freedom of religion should be protected, even if it conflicted with other laws
Last week, the coordinated lawsuits filed against the federal government were accompanied by a parallel media strategy that defended the need for the legal challenge in television news shows and op-ed pages–though some television networks ignored the story.
“With this week’s lawsuits, the bishops join a growing army of other plaintiffs around the country, Catholic and non-Catholic, who are asking the courts to repel an unprecedented governmental assault on the ability of religious persons and groups to practice their religion without being forced to violate their deepest moral convictions,” explained Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon in a May 21 column in The Wall Street Journal.
The White House issued a statement soon after the lawsuits were announced, asserting that it did not want a legal fight with religious groups and that dialogue with Catholic leaders would continue.
Yet in a reminder that Church leaders navigated a treacherous landscape during an election year, Catholic leaders were soon under fire to explain why there were “divisions” within the bishops’ conference.
Just two days after the lawsuits were filed, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, a self-identified “progressive Catholic,” challenged the appearance of a united Catholic front.
Dionne noted that Bishop Blaire had expressed concern about the politicization of the Church’s stance on the HHS mandate.
“There is a healthy struggle brewing among the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops. A previously silent group, upset over conservative colleagues defining the Church’s public posture and eagerly picking fights with President Barack Obama, has had enough,” Dionne asserted, citing as evidence Bishop Blaire’s published interview with America, the Jesuit magazine. The columnist also found it “significant” that “the vast majority of the nation’s 195 dioceses did not go to court.”
Frivolous Lawsuits?
Dionne’s remarks prompted another round of media stories speculating that “ultraconservative Catholic leaders” were filing frivolous lawsuits.
However, in an interview with the Register, Edward “Ned” Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, strongly disputed the suggestion that some California bishops were opposed to the plan.
“Just because a diocese is not in the lawsuit doesn’t mean they are not supportive. If you look at the list of plaintiffs, there is a strategy in a variety of media markets with a variety of plaintiffs,” said Dolejsi.
“The California bishops remain committed to the strategy laid out by the USCCB administrative board,” he stated.
Bishop Blaire subsequently issued a statement endorsing the USCCB legal strategy.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, a member of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, jumped into the debate, defending the USCCB’s plans and vouching for the bishops’ unity on the issue.
During a May 27 interview on Fox News, Cardinal Wuerl dismissed the suggestion that the absence of some dioceses in the nationwide legal action signaled their opposition to the conference’s strategy and noted that landmark legal challenges involved a single plaintiff.
The cardinal expressed frustration with the Church’s critics, who argue that the bishops’ conference should continue to negotiate with the Obama administration rather than turn to the courts.
“Last time the government said we are going to hear from you, 200,000 suggestions went in, and not one of them was accepted,” he recalled, in a reference to the Department of Health and Human Services’ request for comments in the wake of the “interim final rule,” approved in August.
Last fall, at the direction of their local bishop or state Catholic conference, Catholics throughout the nation registered their opposition to the mandate, flooding the agency’s email system.
Obama Losing Support
The May 27 Times editorial expressed doubt that the bishops would win their case in court.
“The First Amendment also does not exempt religious entities or individuals claiming a sincere religious objection from neutral laws of general applicability, a category the new contraception rule plainly fits.”
The Times noted the Supreme Court’s 1990 ruling in which Justice Antonin Scalia concluded that “the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land” would mean allowing “every citizen to become a law unto himself.”
In 1993, Congress sought to broaden religious exemptions and conscience protections with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which directed government agencies not to “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” without a compelling state interest. And, when necessary, government should adopt the least restrictive means of securing that compelling interest.
The Times asserted that the HHS mandate, “by promoting women’s health and autonomy,” met the standard of the 1993 law.
Yet the headlines prompted by the May 21 lawsuits underscore the potential danger for Obama as he continues to defend the constitutionality of the HHS mandate.
In April, a Pew Research Center poll reported that support for the president among non-Hispanic Catholics had dropped from 45% in March to 37% in April in key swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Subsequent polls have confirmed this trend. And two days after the 12 lawsuits were filed in courts across the country, Obama expressed his support for Catholic institutions at two fundraisers.
“My first job as a community organizer was with Catholic churches, [which] taught me the power of kindness and commitment to others in neighborhoods,” he declared at a Hollywood event on May 23.
Yet Bishop Blaire’s recent comments in America, about the danger of politicizing the mandate fight, hinted at simmering fears that a legitimate religious-freedom battle could be hijacked by Republican forces during an election year, with unpredictable consequences.
“I think there are different groups that are trying to co-opt this and make it into a political issue, and that’s why we need to have a deeper discussion as bishops,” he said.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the bishops’ conference, and Archbishop Lori have acknowledged the difficulty of clarifying the Church’s immediate goals amid partisan spin and ongoing public confusion about the issues at stake. They have announced plans for a fortnight of prayer for freedom, ending on July 4, an initiative that underscores the spiritual foundation of religious liberty and is designed, no doubt, to help inoculate their crusade against uninvited special interests.
But Church leaders also have depended on their Capitol Hill allies to support this First Amendment fight, and so must balance fears of politicization with the practical reality of effecting change in a democracy. Thus, at the May 24 conference, Archbishop Lori expressed an unapologetic commitment to the strategy worked out by the USCCB leadership, in consultation with top legal scholars and other experts.
“Although fighting the tide of secularism in general and current threats to religious liberty in particular can seem like a daunting task,” he said “we know that with God all things are possible; and we know that prayer is the ultimate source of our strength in this fight.”
Joan Frawley Desmond is the Register’s senior editor.
“As Catholic bishops and American citizens, we
address an urgent summons to our fellow Catholics and fellow
Americans to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack,
both at home and abroad.” -U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
Irondale, AL, June 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EWTN was the first to file a lawsuit after the
government issued a mandate forcing religious employers to provide
coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and more. Now, look to EWTN
for coverage of the “Fortnight for Freedom,” a call by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops for a 14-day period of prayer,
education and action in support of religious freedom, which begins
June 21.
EWTN’s coverage on both television and radio begins with
the Opening Mass celebrated by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori
at 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 21, from the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.
The date was chosen because it is the vigil of St. John Fisher and
St. Thomas More, two great martyrs of the Faith. This will be
followed by a 10 a.m. ET Mass on June 22 celebrated by New York
Cardinal Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City,
which will again be broadcast on both EWTN television and radio.
The Closing Mass – to be celebrated by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the
Archdiocese of Washington and with a homily by Philadelphia
Archbishop Charles Chaput – will be televised at 12:10 p.m. ET,
July 4, the day that Americans traditionally celebrate their most
cherished freedoms.
(Note: Dates and times of all programs subject to
change. Please check our website to confirm.)
Other programming during the Fortnight
includes:
· “World
Over Specials:” At 8:30 p.m. ET, June 21, immediately following the
Opening Mass, EWTN News Director Raymond Arroyo will host a live
one-hour national town hall meeting. (Check our website
for encores.) Also, look for three special editions of “The
World Over,” which will air at 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday, June 26; 8 p.m.
ET, Thursday, June 28; and 1:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, July 4. These
special editions will explore the threats to religious liberty with
exclusive interviews with those directly affected, bishops,
historians and policy makers.
· “Women
of Grace:” Host Johnnette Benkovic will host a week of specials
focusing on attacks on our religious freedom. Airs 11 a.m. ET, July
2 to July 6.
· “The
History of the Catholic Church in the U.S.:” In this 13-part
series, Historian Father Charles Connor looks at the origins of
Roman Catholicism in the U.S. and how the Church managed to grow
despite periods of persecution and discrimination. Airs 6:30 p.m.
ET, Monday, June 18 through Thursday, July 5.
·
“Bookmark:” Host Doug Keck will interview authors of books
celebrating the importance of religious freedom. Airs Sunday at
9:30 a.m. ET and 11:30 p.m. ET from July 1 through August 19 with
encores at 5 a.m. ET, Mondays, and 5:30 p.m. ET, Wednesdays. Guests
will include Archbishop Chaput (“Render Unto Caesar”), James
Hitchcock (“The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life
(Volumes 1 II),” Janice Connell (“Spiritual Journey of George
Washington”), Scott McDermott (“Charles Carroll of Carrollton”),
Carl Anderson (“A Civilization of Love”), Robert Royal (“The God
That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West”),
Thomas Woods (“How the Catholic Church Built Western
Civilization”), and Michael Novak (“On Two Wings: Humble Faith and
Common Sense at the American Founding”).
·
“Crossing the Goal:” In a special episode of this
continuing series, Danny Abramowicz and his team urge Godly men to
stand up for religious freedom. Airs 11 p.m. ET, Thursday, June
21.
· “Life
is Worth Living: The Glory of Being an American:” Archbishop Sheen
discusses the origin of our rights and liberties, the great value
Americans put upon the human person and the good America has done
for the world. Airs 6 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 23.
· “Life
is Worth Living: Quo Vadis America:” Archbishop Sheen tells the
story of patriotism, takes a look at the U.S. yesterday and today,
and explains why every day in America should be Thanksgiving Day.
Airs 5:30 a.m. ET, Sunday, June 24, and 6 p.m. ET, Saturday, June
30.
· “St.
Thomas More: Faithful Statesman:” In this 13-part series, the
career of this saint is examined for the numerous instances in
which he displayed the virtues that distinguished him as a model
for others in public and political life. All episodes air at 6 a.m.
ET. Episode 1 airs Friday, June 15. Episodes 2 through 7 air Monday
through Saturday, June 18 through June 23. Episodes 8 through 11
air Monday through Thursday, June 25 through June 28. Episode 12
airs Saturday, June 30, and Episode 13 airs Monday, July
2.
· “St.
Thomas More: A Hero for Our Times:” A discussion of the life and
heroic virtues of the man who gave his life to defend the Faith
during the reign of Henry VIII. Airs 6 p.m. ET, Friday, June
22.
Also, please check our new web page, www.religiousliberties.com,
for continuous updates as well as dates and times of newly added
programs; to see or hear EWTN programs, news links, documentaries
and films on the subject of religious liberty, the fortnight for
Freedom, the HHS mandate and more; to get the latest news on EWTN’s
lawsuit against the HHS mandate and related activities; to learn
how the USCCB, Catholic dioceses and other Catholic organizations
are promoting religious liberty; to view photo galleries with
pictures from religious liberty rallies and related activities -
and lots more!
Watch or listen to EWTN television by cable or satellite
(
www.ewtn.com/channelfinder
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by streaming audio or video on the Intranet (
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http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm
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http://www.ewtn.com/mobi/
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http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.htm
),
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http://www.sirius.com/ewtn
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EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 30th
year, is available in over 200 million television
households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its
direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM
FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet
website www.ewtn.com, electronic and
print news services, and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest
religious media network in the world.
###
CONTACT: For more information, please contact:
Michelle Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210-2198 USA
(205) 795-5769 - Office
(205) 441-6248 !- Cell
(205) 795-5781 - Fax
mjohnson@ewtn.com
Irondale, AL, Jun 13, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) –
“As Catholic bishops and American citizens, we address an urgent summons to our fellow Catholics and fellow Americans to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack, both at home and abroad.” -U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
EWTN was the first to file a lawsuit after the government issued a mandate forcing religious employers to provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs and more. Now, look to EWTN for coverage of the “Fortnight for Freedom,” a call by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, which begins June 21.
EWTN’s coverage on both television and radio begins with the Opening Mass celebrated by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori at 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 21, from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. The date was chosen because it is the vigil of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, two great martyrs of the Faith. This will be followed by a 10 a.m. ET Mass on June 22 celebrated by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, which will again be broadcast on both EWTN television and radio. The Closing Mass – to be celebrated by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington and with a homily by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput – will be televised at 12:10 p.m. ET, July 4, the day that Americans traditionally celebrate their most cherished freedoms.
(note:Dates and times of all programs subject to change. Please check our website to confirm.)
Other programming during the Fortnight includes:
. “World Over Specials:” At 8:30 p.m. ET, June 21, immediately following the Opening Mass, EWTN News Director Raymond Arroyo will host a live one-hour national town hall meeting. (Check our website for encores.) Also, look for three special editions of “The World Over,” which will air at 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday, June 26; 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 28; and 1:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, July 4. These special editions will explore the threats to religious liberty with exclusive interviews with those directly affected, bishops, historians and policy makers.
. “Women of Grace:” Host Johnnette Benkovic will host a week of specials focusing on attacks on our religious freedom. Airs 11 a.m. ET, July 2 to July 6.
. “The History of the Catholic Church in the U.S.:” In this 13-part series, Historian Father Charles Connor looks at the origins of Roman Catholicism in the U.S. and how the Church managed to grow despite periods of persecution and discrimination. Airs 6:30 p.m. ET, Monday, June 18 through Thursday, July 5.
. “Bookmark:” Host Doug Keck will interview authors of books celebrating the importance of religious freedom. Airs Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET and 11:30 p.m. ET from July 1 through August 19 with encores at 5 a.m. ET, Mondays, and 5:30 p.m. ET, Wednesdays. Guests will include Archbishop Chaput (“Render Unto Caesar”), James Hitchcock (“The Supreme Court and Religion in American Life (Volumes 1 II),” Janice Connell (“Spiritual Journey of George Washington”), Scott McDermott (“Charles Carroll of Carrollton”), Carl Anderson (“A Civilization of Love”), Robert Royal (“the god that did not fail:How Religion Built and Sustains the West”), Thomas Woods (“How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization”), and Michael Novak (“on two wings:Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding”).
. “Crossing the Goal:” In a special episode of this continuing series, Danny Abramowicz and his team urge Godly men to stand up for religious freedom. Airs 11 p.m. ET, Thursday, June 21.
. “Life is Worth Living: The Glory of Being an American:” Archbishop Sheen discusses the origin of our rights and liberties, the great value Americans put upon the human person and the good America has done for the world. Airs 6 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 23.
. “Life is Worth Living: Quo Vadis America:” Archbishop Sheen tells the story of patriotism, takes a look at the U.S. yesterday and today, and explains why every day in America should be Thanksgiving Day. Airs 5:30 a.m. ET, Sunday, June 24, and 6 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 30.
. “St. Thomas More: Faithful Statesman:” In this 13-part series, the career of this saint is examined for the numerous instances in which he displayed the virtues that distinguished him as a model for others in public and political life. All episodes air at 6 a.m. ET. Episode 1 airs Friday, June 15. Episodes 2 through 7 air Monday through Saturday, June 18 through June 23. Episodes 8 through 11 air Monday through Thursday, June 25 through June 28. Episode 12 airs Saturday, June 30, and Episode 13 airs Monday, July 2.
. “St. Thomas More: A Hero for Our Times:” A discussion of the life and heroic virtues of the man who gave his life to defend the Faith during the reign of Henry VIII. Airs 6 p.m. ET, Friday, June 22.
Also, please check our new web page,
www.religiousliberties.com , for continuous updates as well as dates and times of newly added programs; to see or hear EWTN programs, news links, documentaries and films on the subject of religious liberty, the fortnight for Freedom, the HHS mandate and more; to get the latest news on EWTN’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate and related activities; to learn how the USCCB, Catholic dioceses and other Catholic organizations are promoting religious liberty; to view photo galleries with pictures from religious liberty rallies and related activities – and lots more!
Watch or listen to EWTN television by cable or satellite (
www.ewtn.com/channelfinder ), by streaming audio or video on the Intranet (
http://origin.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp ), by shortwave (
http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm ), via EWTN mobile (
http://www.ewtn.com/mobi/ ), on the EWTN Radio Network via our affiliates (
http://www.ewtn.com/radio/amfm.htm ), and on satellite radio (
http://www.sirius.com/ewtn ).
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 30th year, is available in over 200 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website
www.ewtn.com , electronic and print news services, and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.
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This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire,
www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: EWTN Global Catholic Network
CONTACT: For more information, please contact:
Michelle Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210-2198 USA
(205) 795-5769 - Office
(205) 441-6248 !- Cell
(205) 795-5781 - Fax
mjohnson@ewtn.com
(C) Copyright 2010 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.
