Coinciding with the United States’ celebration of its Independence Day, the fourth annual “Fortnight for Freedom” will take place in Dioceses across the country, including parishes in the Diocese of Trenton, from June 21 through July 4.

Launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Fortnight for Freedom takes place each year, recognizing the need to defend and pray for religious liberty. This year’s theme is “The Freedom to Bear Witness,” calling attention to the link between religious freedom and bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel.

Four saints’ feast days occur during the Fortnight for Freedom this year: Sts. Peter and Paul, the first martyrs of the Church of Rome, as well as Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More. The latter two English saints were martyred for the faith in the face of tremendous political persecution during the English Reformation, making them ideal representatives for this two-week celebration of religious fortitude in the face of injustice. Resonating through the centuries, St. Thomas More’s final words spoke of both patriotism and fidelity to the Church: “I die the King’s loyal servant, but God’s first.”

St. Joseph Parish Respect Life Group, as well as participants from other churches in the Toms River area, led by Frank Streibig and Mario Minervini, has planned several one-hour Rosary processions for religious freedom. During the Fortnight for Freedom, the group will gather at noon June 25 at the Ocean County Library, Washington Street, to walk in downtown Toms River. They will also gather at 10 a.m. on July 30 and Aug. 28 at Casino Pier, Ocean Terrace and Boardwalk, to walk the Seaside Heights Boardwalk. All are invited to join the procession and pray for religious freedom. For more information, email Frank at [email protected].

St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, will hold its annual prayer service for religious freedom July 5 after the 9 a.m. Mass.

The Knights of Columbus Council in Holy Eucharist Parish, Tabernacle, will sponsor a Holy Hour of Adoration June 26 from 6 to 7 p.m. 

In St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro, Deacon Richard Roenbeck will lead a Eucharistic Holy Hour with recitation of the Rosary  July 1 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the church. The Holy Hour is sponsored by the parish respect life committee

St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck, will hold a Eucharistic Holy Hour and recitation of the Rosary for the intentions of persecuted Christians June 22 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Christ Chapel.

 St. Catherine Parish, Middletown will hold an Hour of Praise, Prayer and Adoration for Freedom of Religion after the noon Mass June 22 from 12:45 to 2 p.m. After June 22, a holy hour will be held in the church.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Maple Shade, will have a “Walk for Religious Freedom” June 20. After the 8:30 AM Mass, congregants will process out of the church, walk to the Maple Shade Municipal Building on Stiles Avenue for a short prayer and then return to church. Total distance is a mile and a half. In the case of rain, congregants will remain in church for prayer. 

Pope Francis has spoken several times in the past year in defense of freedom. Particular to the U.S. and Europe are legislative decisions impinging upon religious freedoms in the name of tolerance.

“Today the Churches and ecclesial communities in Europe find themselves facing new and decisive challenges, which can only be answered effectively by speaking with one voice,” the Pope said May 7. “I am thinking, for example, of the challenge posed by legislators who, in the name of some badly interpreted principle of tolerance, end up preventing citizens from freely expressing and practicing their own religious convictions in a peaceful and legitimate way.”

John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America, Washington, wrote about the need for religious liberty as fundamental to the human person.

“Denying religious freedom (by imposing or forbidding religion) is an affront to human dignity,” he said, “because freely directing our course toward God is essential to being human.”

Garvey provided his catechetical study in a teaching aid on the USCCB website, titled “Religious Liberty and the Practice of Charity.” In it, he highlighted the persecution of Christians around the world, particularly by members of the extremist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), during their June 2014 seizure of the city of Mosul and ongoing atrocities committed upon Christians in the Middle East.

“ISIS offered Christians in the city a stark choice: convert, pay a tax or face the sword,” he said. “We believe that all (people) have a right to freedom from coercion in matters of faith and the right not to be hindered in the practice of their religion. We think that the free exercise of religion is so important that it should not be sacrificed even to secure some surpassing good such as physical security.”

Garvey drew attention how religious liberty is defended in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“The concept of a right to religious liberty is so familiar, it can seem self-evident,” Garvey noted. “But it rests on a certain understanding of God and human nature. God, out of love for us, made us for himself and in his image. It is because we have that end and that nature that we need a right to religious liberty.”

The USCCB has provided resources for the fortnight with 14 suggested activities for parishes, including parish picnics and movie nights featuring the lives of the saints commemorated, as well as panel discussions on religious liberty and Eucharistic processions through the community. To view the USCCB suggestions and other teaching materials on religious liberty, visit http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/.