The March 2012 Stand up for Religious Freedom rally in Philadelphia, Pa. with Independence Hall in the background. Credit: Sarah Webb-The Catholic Standard and Times.
By Michelle Bauman CatholicNewsAgency.com
Washington D.C., Dec 7, 2012 / 12:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops have announced a five-part pastoral strategy that is aimed at creating a movement dedicated to penance and prayer for a renewed culture of life, marriage and religious freedom.
“It’s not meant to be another program but rather part of a movement for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty, which engages the New Evangelization and can be incorporated into the Year of Faith,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.
In a Dec. 6 statement, he explained that the pastoral strategy is “meant to be simple” and is essentially a call “to prayer and sacrifice.”
Approved by the bishops at their November meeting, the prayer campaign includes Rosaries, holy hours of Eucharistic adoration, fasting and a second Fortnight for Freedom event next summer.
According to a statement by the bishops’ conference, the campaign was “prompted by the rapid social movements and policy changes currently underway.”
Among these policies is the federal mandate, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, that requires employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and drugs that can cause early abortions.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the mandate by religious and secular employers who argue that it violates their right to religious freedom by forcing them to facilitate products and procedures that they find to be morally wrong.
Growing concerns have also been voiced in recent months about an escalating push at both the federal and state level to redefine marriage.
As part of the new pastoral strategy, the bishops are calling on families and individuals to pray a daily Rosary, particularly for the protection of life, marriage and religious freedom in the United States.
In addition, recognizing “the importance of spiritual and bodily sacrifice in the life of the Church,” the bishops are encouraging Catholics to fast and abstain from meat on Fridays for the intention of preserving life, marriage and religious liberty.
Cathedrals and parishes throughout the U.S. are urged to hold a Eucharistic Holy Hour for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty on or near the last Sunday of every month from the Feast of the Holy Family on Dec. 30 through the feast of Christ the King in November 2013.
The bishops also recommend that the Prayers of the Faithful at daily and Sunday Masses “include specific intentions for respect for all human life from conception to natural death, the strengthening of marriage and family life, and the preservation of religious liberty at all levels of government, both at home and abroad.”
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