Fortnight for Freedom

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What is the Fortnight for Freedom?

In April of 2012, the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a document, "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” outlining the bishops’ concerns over threats to religious freedom, both at home and abroad. The bishops called for a “Fortnight for Freedom,” a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4. Thousands of people across the country participated with prayer and public demonstrations during the Fortnight and since to stand up for religious liberty. With religious freedom in America still under constant attack, the bishops are once again sponsoring the Fortnight for Freedom in 2013.

The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action would emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty.

HLI is asking for prayer pledges from the faithful around the world to pray the Rosary with us during the Fortnight for the protection of religious freedom in the U.S. and around the world:

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Fortnight for Freedom Resources (find more at Fortnight4Freedom.org)

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

The bishops have created the following prayer for the protection of religious liberty that you are encouraged to pray during the Fortnight for Freedom (downloadable prayer cards are found below):

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O God our Creator,

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

[St. Thomas More (English, Spanish); Our Lady of Guadalupe (English, Spanish); Mary Immaculate (English, Spanish)]

“Litany for Liberty” be prayed during the Fortnight for Freedom

14 ways to celebrate the Fortnight for Freedom