Bishop Malone's Letter - Call to Prayer

 

May 17, 2013

My Dear Friends in Christ,

In December, when the bishops announced the Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty, they also announced a second Fortnight for Freedom.  As last year, the Fortnight will take place from June 21 (the vigil of the feasts of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher) to July 4 (Independence Day).

There are three reasons why this year’s Fortnight is so important:

·         First, the Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage redefinition, which could have grave implications for religious freedom, will almost certainly be issued during the Fortnight.

·         Second, by the time of the Fortnight, the effective date of the HHS mandate-August 1, 2013 will be scarcely a month away, and the Administration’s decision on the shape of a final rule will likely be imminent.   We are still far from receiving the relief we need through the regulatory process.  So it will be very important to keep the public pressure on.

·         Third, the success of a second Fortnight is essential to perpetuating a new movement for life, marriage and religious liberty, highlighting the full range of ongoing religious freedom issues, here and abroad, and in so many other areas of law, such as immigration, adoption, and disaster relief.  Similarly, it is important to show that it is not tied to any election year, but to the broader principle of religious freedom. 

During the fortnight, I ask you to call on your parishioners and other constituents to join me in prayer for religious freedom.  As we all know, prayer can be very powerful and every day during the fourteen day fortnight, I am asking that in every parish, during every Mass, a special Prayer of the Faithful be said.  You are also encouraged to sponsor adoration, special devotions and catechetical sessions as part of this national religious liberty campaign.

Attached you will find suggested prayers that you may wish to use during the fortnight.  Additional resources are available on the HHS Mandate page of the diocesan website (www.buffalodiocese.org) and USCCB Fortnight resources are available at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org.

I will begin the Fortnight of Prayer on Saturday, June 22 at 8:00 a.m. Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church, corner of Parkside and Parker Avenues, Buffalo, where I will be celebrating the Rosary Novena for Life Mass and then later that same day at 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral.  Both of these Masses are open for anyone in the Diocese who would like to come and pray with me for the intentions of the Fortnight.

The Fortnight of Prayer will conclude on Wednesday, July 3 at 3:00 pm with a Holy Hour and Benediction at the Dominican Monastery.  Bishop Grosz will preside at this celebration.

Catholics in the United States have long advocated for religious liberty, and it is our solemn duty to continue those efforts today.  Please join me and our fellow Catholics as we pray for a new birth of freedom in this great land!

Be assured of my grateful prayers and best wishes,

 

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Richard J. Malone

Bishop of Buffalo

Religious Freedom CALL TO ACTION

Call Congress to Protect Religious Freedom! Take Action! Ask for conscience protection in must-pass legislation Dear Friend of Religious Liberty: As you know, there are major threats looming against people and groups that are opposed in conscience to providing insurance coverage for sterilizations, contraception, or abortifacient drugs, or to participating in or facilitating an abortion. Now is the time to act! Congress will soon be considering a "must-pass" bill that will fund the federal government. Congress can include conscience protection as part of that bill and solve this problem now. Can you spare 5 minutes to contact your Members of Congress and ask them to support conscience protection for EVERYONE? Call or click here to email your two Senators and Representative. Please join with us in calling on Congress to protect the right of all people and groups to participate in life-affirming health care -- without violating their consciences! Not sure what to say? Here are some suggestions: The administration has issued a mandate requiring virtually all insurance plans to include sterilization and contraception, even including the morning-after and week-after pills. People who run secular charities, or religious or secular businesses, are being forced to buy insurance coverage for "services" to which they have a deeply held moral or religious objection -- with no exceptions. I oppose forcing people to participate in, fund, or provide things they believe are wrong or immoral. Though churches themselves are exempted from the mandate, religious ministries of service -- such as charities, schools, and hospitals -- are given second-class status under the law, in the form of a still-murky "accommodation." But these ministries are integral to our religious community and deserve the same exemption as our houses of worship. I oppose government action that defines our religious community narrowly and inaccurately, reducing freedom of religion to freedom of worship only. Freedom of religion is a bedrock principle on which our nation was founded. It is referred to as our "First Freedom" -- first on the list in the Bill of Rights, and first in priority among human freedoms. I support religious freedom as a fundamental human right of every person. A distinct blessing of being an American is that we are free to choose our faith, and live by the dictates of that faith throughout our lives -- at home, at church, and in the public square. Other countries may force faith underground, but in America we can follow our conscience while also participating fully in society. I support policies that allow Americans to live their faith in their jobs and in their everyday life. In the words of Cardinal Dolan, "In obedience to our Judeo-Christian heritage, we have consistently taught our people to live their lives during the week to reflect the same beliefs that they proclaim on the Sabbath. We cannot now abandon them to be forced to violate their morally well-informed consciences." I support the right of all men and women who work in health care -- whether providing services or providing insurance -- to live and work in harmony with their faith and convictions. Please call your Congressional representatives today and urge them to take whatever action is necessary to protect religious freedom and the moral convictions of all! For more information or to join the postcard campaign, go to NCHLA's action alert. A special note: Members of Congress will be in their home states and districts for the remainder of this week. This represents an excellent opportunity for you to talk with Members directly on the urgent need for conscience protection legislation. Thank you for all that you do in support of life and liberty! -Your Religious Freedom and Conscience Protection Team P.S. Please forward this to friends and family who share your concern to protect the rights of all to participate in health care!

VP Debate misinformation re: HHS Mandate

DATE: October 12, 2012







FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCCB RESPONDS TO INACCURATE STATEMENT OF FACT ON HHS MANDATE MADE DURING VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution-Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital-none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to "Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital," or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional "accommodation" for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as "non-exempt." That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation "to pay for contraception" and "to be a vehicle to get contraception." They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.
For more details, please see USCCB's regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed "accommodation": www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf---

# # # # #

Fortnight at St. Ben's

St. Benedict’s is hosting Fr. Terrance Klein, S.T.D. from St. Bonaventure University on Tuesday, June 26 at 7PM to speak on the theological understanding of Religious Liberty.

Join us in church for his presentation, Adoration/Benediction, and prayer.

The United States bishops call the laity to action in defense of religious liberty and are urging all to protect the First Freedom of the Bill of Rights. The position of the U.S. bishops is outlined in "Our First, Most Cherished Freedom." 

The document lists the following major concerns:
The Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate forcing religious organizations to pay for morally objectionable services.

License revocation of Catholic foster care and adoption service programs that refuse to place children in situations against their moral teaching.

Requiring that the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services provide contraceptive and abortion services to victims of human trafficking.

Diocese of Buffalo events and information previous post - http://stbenedictsamherstnyblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/fortnight-for-freedom.html

A Prayer for Religious Liberty

Almighty God, Father of all nations, for freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).

We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty, the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.

Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.

We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Fortnight for Freedom update

“Fortnight for Freedom” to focus on prayer for religious liberty  Background information is available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/our-first-most-cherished-liberty.cfm

For a two-week period, beginning June 21 on the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, to July 4, Independence Day, Catholics from the Diocese of Buffalo will join the faithful across the United States in the “Fortnight for Freedom,” described by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as, “a great hymn of prayer for our country.” Among the martyrs of the Church, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More remained true to their faith in the face of political persecution.

The fortnight is part of the bishops’ coordinated efforts to mobilize Catholics in response to government attacks on religious liberty. Earlier this year, the Obama administration endorsed a Health and Human Services mandate that will require Catholic organizations and institutions to pay for employee health coverage that includes contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. The bishops have vigorously opposed the mandate on the grounds that the federal government is forcing the Catholic employers to provide coverage that is a contradiction of Church teachings and beliefs.

“During this two-week period, I call on Catholics throughout the diocese to join me in prayer for religious freedom,” said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. “We know prayer can be very powerful and every day during the fortnight, in every parish, during every Mass, a special Prayer of the Faithful will be said.” Parishes and Catholic institutions are also free to sponsor adoration, special devotions and catechetical sessions as part of this national religious liberty campaign.


Bishop Kmiec will begin the fortnight on Thursday, June 21, at 3 p.m. with a holy hour at the Carmelite Monastery (75 Carmel Road, Buffalo). Bishop Edward M. Grosz, auxiliary bishop of Buffalo, will conclude the observance with a holy hour at the Dominican Monastery (355 Doat St., Buffalo) at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 3. The public is welcome to attend both prayer hours. “I believe the ‘Hour of Mercy’ at both of these powerhouses of prayer in our diocese will be the most effective and prayerful ways for Catholics to take part in the fortnight,” Bishop Kmiec said.

In addition to the “Fortnight for Freedom,” the bishops have designated the Solemnity of Christ the King (Nov. 25), as a day for bishops, priests and deacons to focus their homilies on religious freedom. The Feast of Christ the King is significant in that it was born out of resistance to totalitarian incursions against religious liberty. “We must be consistent in our message and in our teaching,” Bishop Kmiec said. “At every opportunity, we need to remind the faithful of the importance of defending our first freedom, our most cherished freedom: the freedom of religion.”

In their statement on religious liberty, the U.S. bishops wrote, “To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory and should instead by complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land.”

For more information on the “Fortnight for Freedom, visit the HHS Mandate page of www.buffalodiocese.org   Stay alert for updates on what our parish and neighboring parishes will be doing in particular.  We recommend frequent visits to our website www.saintbenedicts.com as well as subscribing to this blog via email by simply entering your email address in the upper right box where it says "follow by email," then click "submit."