Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Fortnight For Freedom, June 21 - July 4, 2012: Posts, and 'Closing Thoughts'

I've been writing about some aspect of Fortnight For Freedom each day since the start of this "great hymn of prayer for our country:"1
Predictably, not everybody wants Catholics talking too much about religious liberty. Also predictably, the establishment press wants Americans to think that those Catholic bishops are pretty much just like those 'narrow-minded' 'homophobic' conservative American Protestants:
I've been over this sort of thing before:
Concern about "Romanism" is very much part of America's cultural history. I'm inclined to see many reactions to Fortnight For Freedom as the old anti-Catholic bias trotted out with a fresh coat of paint and new slogans.

Other objections seem to reflect the wishes of folks who don't want God to exist: and want everybody else to agree with them. That's a new wrinkle. It's also a notion of what "freedom" means that I reject as much as the old 'kill a commie for Christ' flavor of religious beliefs.

I'm a practicing Catholic, so there are some things I have to believe. Starting with:
Other rules include:
  • Some actions are always wrong
    (Catechism, 1789)
    • Even if the President says it's okay
      (Catechism, 2242)
  • Human life
    • Is sacred
      (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258)
    • Begins at conception
    • (Catechism, 2270, 2274)
  • Murder is wrong
    (Catechism, 2259-2262, 2268-2269)
Finally, about religious freedom:
  • Religious freedom is vital
    (Catechism, 2104-2109)
    • For everybody
      (Catechism, 2106)
If that's 'not what you read in the papers,' I'm not surprised. And that's another topic.

Bottom line? I'm Catholic, so I have to love God, love my neighbors: and see everyone as my neighbor. That was counter-cultural two millennia back, and it still is. But I believe that it is true.

Related posts:


(from H.E. Fowler, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission)

1 Source:
"Fortnight for Freedom"
Religious Liberty, Issues and Action, USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

"The fourteen days from June 21 - the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More - to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this 'fortnight for freedom' - a great hymn of prayer for our country. 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. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty."

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What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.