US Bishops Call for Prayer as Annual “Religious Freedom Week” Begins

CV NEWS FEED // The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is inviting all Catholics to participate in this year’s Religious Freedom Week beginning June 22.

The 2023 theme for the annual novena is “Embracing the Divine Gift of Freedom.” 

“Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all,” the bishops’ site states. Catholics are asked to pray, reflect, and act throughout the week to support religious freedom both in the United States and abroad.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, VA, noted in a statement that:

An erosion to religious liberty can often begin when anti-religious sentiments grow in society. When we experience an increased hostility towards the practice of faith, it can raise concerns that the peaceful practice of our religion might be endangered. 

The bishop also cited the rise in “anti-Catholic vandalism … throughout our country” as all the more reason for Catholics to pray and call on their government to take action in defense of religious liberty this year.

Religious Freedom Week is the successor to the USCCB’s “Fortnight for Freedom,” which ran from 2012 – 2017 in response to the Obama administration’s attacks on conscience protections. Father James Martin’s “New Ways Ministries” has attacked the campaign in the past, saying it is an effort to “stop equality.” 

The event aptly begins on the feast of English martyrs Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, who boldly gave their lives for the truth during a time of intense religious persecution.

These men gave their lives for the freedom of the Church and for freedom of conscience. They bear witness to the truth that no government can make a claim on a person’s soul. May their example continue to illuminate the path for us, as we seek to faithfully serve our Church and country.

St. Thomas More is also one of CatholicVote’s patron saints. 

Listen to some of the beautiful poems he composed while imprisoned in the Tower of London, read by Catholic Culture Audiobooks.