Pope Francis Visit to USA 2015 WNY media coverage

Papal Visit 2015

Click for a link to the schedule of Pope Francis' 2015 Apostolic Journey to the United States of America.

Time Warner Cable News will provide complete coverage of the Pope's visit to the U.S. on various media platforms. 

Channel 199 will air non-stop papal coverage, including daily recap shows and national call-in shows from September 20 through September 27th.

Channel 1020 has begun on-demand coverage, including pre-visit preparations, documentaries and previous papal visit programming, and will continue through November 30th. 

The cable outlet will feature coverage with a local perspective on their news channel as well as a special papal visit section on their TWC news app. 

Visit http://www.twcnews.com/papalvisit, beginning September 1st for a video chronicle of the Pope's visit.

Forthnight for Freedom 2015 preparations

In preparation for the Fortnight for Freedom: Freedom to Bear Witness, which will take place from June 21 to July 4, 2015, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ staff has once again prepared materials that you may use to celebrate the Fortnight. This year’s theme emphasizes the link between religious freedom and bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel, keeping in mind the sacrifice of so many martyrs for the faith, both past and present.

During the Fortnight, our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. In the secular calendar, we anticipate that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule at some point during the Fortnight (likely around June 29) on four cases concerning the legal definition of marriage in the United States.

          

FORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOM RESOURCES

The materials below are publicly available (in English and Spanish) through the website www.Fortnight4Freedom.org, so please feel free to distribute widely or provide website links:

1. 14-Day Study Guide on Dignitatis Humanae (note that this is the 50th anniversary of the “Declaration on Religious Freedom” from the Second Vatican Council)

2. Parish Guide to celebrating the Fortnight (including 14 suggestions)

3. A series of examples of Current Threats to Religious Liberty in the U.S.

4. A series of examples of International Religious Freedom issues

5. Why the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Works

6. Frequently Asked Questions about Religious Liberty

7. Religious Liberty High School Lesson Plans (included as part of the 2015Catechetical Sunday materials)

8. Litany for Liberty

9. Prayers of the Faithful (part of the Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage & Religious Liberty)

10. Holy Hour Template (also part of the Call to Prayer)

Social media can also be an effective tool during the Fortnight; I would encourage you to use all  communications tools that you have access to in order to effectively spread the message in support of religious freedom.

Veterans' Day - Lest We Forget

Say a prayer for all our Veterans today!  Thank them personally for their service.

As our on-line commemoration today, here is John McCrae's famous poem "In Flanders Fields."  John McCrae was a Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel.  He penned this poem  in 1915 after seeing a friend killed in battle. It is often recited on this day and many of us remember memorizing it at school.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
   Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.