July 3, 2013
Don’t miss the Fortnight for Freedom Grand Finale
View and Download our local flyer of activities: Rockville Centre Freedom Flyer
Important Information and Resources from the USCCB:
Thank you for all of the planning and preparation you have done so far for the Fortnight for Freedom (June 21 to July 4) this year! We are starting to hear word of great plans from various dioceses around the country to celebrate the Fortnight. Please continue to send links to your diocesan Fortnight websites and event flyers to Hillary Byrnes at hbyrnes@usccb.org so that these events can be posted on the Fortnight diocesan activities page.
The Conference has prepared additional materials that will hopefully assist you in preparation for the Fortnight. The materials listed immediately below should not be posted online but may be distributed to parishes for use during Fortnight liturgies:
- Ecumenical Prayer Service Outline
- Intercessory Prayers for Ecumenical Service
- Passages from Scripture for use during the Fortnight for Freedom
- “Homily Helpers” associated with each of the daily readings of the Fortnight (sample homilies for the two Sundays within the Fortnight are forthcoming)
The materials below are already available publicly through the website www.Fortnight4Freedom.org, so please feel free to distribute widely or provide website links:
- Parish guide to celebrating the Fortnight (including 14 suggested ideas)
- 14-Day Study Guide on Dignitatis Humanae
- Frequently Asked Questions about Religious Liberty
- Litany for Liberty
- A series of examples of current threats to religious liberty in the U.S. (including examples in the areas of marriage, immigration, and humanitarian services)
- A series of examples of examples of international threats to religious liberty
- Prayers of the Faithful (as part of the Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty)
- Holy Hour Template (also part of the Call to Prayer)
Please note that the publicly available materials are also available in Spanish on the Fortnight for Freedom website. Please continue to check www.Fortnight4Freedom.org for updated information about the 2013 Fortnight, including videos promoting the Fortnight and examples of diocesan activities. Please also check out the Fortnight Facebook page and consider linking to it via social media!
Finally, two special Masses are planned to begin and end the Fortnight for Freedom. To begin the Fortnight nationally, Archbishop William Lori, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, will celebrate a Mass on June 21st in Baltimore at 7 p.m. Eastern. Cardinal Donald Wuerl will celebrate the Fortnight’s closing Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC on July 4th at noon Eastern. Both Masses will be televised nationwide on EWTN.
Previous Memorandum:
Last week on April 19, 2013, the Secretariats of Pro-Life Activities; of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; of Evangelization and Catechesis; and the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a Memorandum on the Fortnight for Freedom June 21-July 4, 2013.
At the same time, they issued Talking Points that could be used to assist persons in explaining our concerns in relation to this issue and current politics. Please click on the two links below, to download the materials referenced in this email. Thank you for your time and attention to this issue. An abbreviated piece will be included in the upcoming April 29 issue of CL Weekly for all NCCL members.
Memorandum on the Fortnight for Freedom
Religious Liberty Talking Points