Category Archives: U.S. News

Mass to close Fortnight for Freedom honors heroes

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By Mark Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The theme for the 2016 Fortnight for Freedom, “Witnesses to Freedom,” unfolded as 1,500 people spent part of their July 4 holiday in Washington attending the observance’s closing Mass and venerating the relics of two English saints martyred in 1535 for their Catholic faith.
The Mass and veneration took place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. After the Mass, people waited in a long line to kneel and pray before the relics of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More displayed near the altar.
Welcoming the congregation, Msgr. Walter Rossi, the shrine’s rector, said those filling what is the largest Catholic church in North America offered “testimony that the freedom to live our lives according to our faith is fundamental to the life of believers.”
The U.S. Catholic Church’s fifth annual Fortnight for Freedom closing Mass included the participation of three of the petitioners in a recent Supreme Court case challenging the federal contraceptive mandate. They contended that the requirement violated their religious freedom by forcing Catholic institutions to provide employee health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, which are prohibited by church teaching.
Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, whose archdiocese and affiliated agencies challenged the mandate, was the main celebrant at the Mass. The homilist was Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik, whose diocese also opposed the Health and Human Services contraceptive coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act.
The consolidated case that was before the Supreme Court, Zubik v. Burwell, is named for the bishop and for Sylvia Burwell, who is HHS secretary. A group of Little Sisters of the Poor – whose religious order also challenged the mandate – sat in a pew near the front of the congregation and received a long standing ovation at the end of the Mass.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, was a concelebrant at the Mass. Along with Bishop Zubik, other concelebrants included Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio and Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; Auxiliary Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Washington; and Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, the USCCB’s general secretary.
In his homily, Bishop Zubik commended the congregation for standing together and praying for religious freedom “on this 240th anniversary of our freedom in our United States,” dating back to the Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776.
He noted that just as footnotes in a term paper solidify the accuracy and strengthen the message of a point being made, “you and I are called to be footnotes, footnotes to the truth who is Jesus Christ himself.”
Catholics are called to be witnesses to Jesus and to be a living sign of his truth, the bishop said, adding that for some, that witness takes the form of martyrdom.
Bishop Zubik said “our ancestors in the faith” demonstrate what it means to be a footnote to Jesus’ truth, and then be witnesses and sometimes martyrs. He pointed to St. John the Baptist, who was beheaded when he refused to give in to political power.
Pittsburgh’s bishop praised the example of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, a layman and a bishop, respectively, as witnesses and martyrs who “would not yield supremacy of power over faith, even to the king.”
Both men refused to accept Parliament’s Act of Supremacy, which had declared that King Henry VIII was head of the Church of England. Both were imprisoned for treason in the Tower of London for months. They were beheaded 14 days apart in 1535; Bishop Fisher was 65, More was 57.
The relic of St. John Fisher was a ring that had belonged to him. The relics of St. Thomas More were a piece of his jawbone and one half of a tooth. The national shrine was the last stop of the tour for the relics, which earlier been displayed in Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
In his homily, Bishop Zubik also highlighted the heroic example of other martyrs, including St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish Franciscan friar who gave up his life for another man in 1941 at the Auschwitz concentration camp, and Blessed Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop and champion of the poor who was shot in the heart while celebrating Mass in 1980. Bishop Zubik also praised the witness of the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded by Islamic State militants on a beach in Libya in 2015.
Bishop Zubik noted that the Little Sisters of the Poor in their service to the elderly poor and in their stand for religious freedom “are carrying the banner that we will not back off the truth that is Jesus Christ.”
He noted that the nation’s forefathers put forth religious liberty as the first freedom in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, giving people the freedom “to worship our God as the source of our strength, and also to “live our faith outside our churches, synagogues and mosques.”
Bishop Zubik concluded his homily by encouraging people to “pray that we may build on our ancestors of faith and our ancestors in our country and be witnesses to religious freedom.” That witness involves praying, speaking out and acting on behalf of religious freedom, and living that freedom, he said.
The intercessions included a prayer that the president, judges and lawmakers will uphold religious freedom and protect the conscience rights of all people, and that religious-sponsored educational, healthcare and charitable outreach programs will be free to fulfill their mission.
Cardinal Wuerl read a prayer for government written in 1791 by Baltimore Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the new United States.
In remarks after Communion, Archbishop Lori said he hoped the saints’ relics venerated that day “will spur all of us on to cherish, protect and use wisely the gift of freedom.” He thanked dioceses, parishes and individual Catholics for their activities during the Fortnight for Freedom, which ran from June 21 – the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More – to July 4. Archbishop Lori had celebrated the fortnight’s opening Mass in Baltimore at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Archbishop Lori also encouraged people to pray daily for religious freedom and to use that freedom to spread the Gospel, especially the works of mercy, and to stand in solidarity with persecuted people around the world.
People entering the national shrine by its main doors could see a 30-by-50-foot U.S. flag draped from the Knights’ Tower, which was provided by the Knights of Columbus. The Mass concluded on a patriotic note, with the singing of “America the Beautiful.”
The fortnight’s closing Mass was telecast live by the Eternal Word Television Network and also appeared on CatholicTV.
(Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.)

Supreme Court tie vote blocks temporary plan to stop deportations

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By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – With a tie vote June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Obama administration’s plan to temporarily protect more than 4 million unauthorized immigrants from deportation.
The court’s 4-4 vote leaves in place a lower court injunction blocking the administration’s immigration policy with the one-page opinion stating: “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court.”
Legal experts have called it an ambiguous and confusing political and legal decision that leaves many in a state of limbo. It also puts a lot of attention on the vacant Supreme Court seat that may determine how the case is decided in an appeal.
Religious leaders were quick to denounce the court’s action as a setback for immigrant families and stressed the urgency of comprehensive immigration reform.
Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio L. Elizondo, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, said the court’s decision was a “huge disappointment” and a setback, but he said the focus now needs to be on how to fix the current immigration system.
“We must not lose hope that reform is possible,” he said. In a news briefing, President Barack Obama said the country’s immigration system is broken and the Supreme Court’s inability to reach a decision set it back even further.
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin praised the court’s decision for making clear that “the president is not permitted to write laws – only Congress is,” which he said was a “major victory in our fight to restore the separation of powers.”
At issue in the United States v. Texas case are Obama’s executive actions on immigration policy that were challenged by 26 states.
The Texas Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, said in a statement that “respect for human life and dignity demands leaders put people before politics.” Added Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston: “Our legislators continuously refuse to address immigration policies in a comprehensive manner.”
“I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision … putting millions of families at risk of being ripped apart,” said Dominican Sister Bernardine Karge of Chicago, speaking for the Washington-based group Faith in Public Life.
“The stories of immigrant families are intimately woven into the tapestry of this great country, and today’s decision threatens our nation’s commitment to justice and compassion,” she said, adding that she hoped the presumptive presidential nominees and Congress makes comprehensive immigration reform a priority.
Jeanne Atkinson, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. or CLINIC, similarly expressed disappointment in the court’s decision and said the responsibility is more than ever on Congress to come up with comprehensive immigration reform.
She said the court’s decision will put “millions of long-term U.S. residents in fear of law enforcement and at risk of mistreatment in the workplace, by landlords and from abusers due to threats of deportation.”
The case, argued before the court in April, involved Obama’s 2014 expansion of a 2012 program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and creation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, known as DAPA.
The programs had been put on hold last November by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, upholding a Texas-based federal judge’s injunction against the executive actions. The original DACA program is not affected by the injunction.
The states suing the federal government claimed the president went too far and was not just putting a temporary block on deportations, but giving immigrants in the country without legal permission a “lawful presence” that enabled them to qualify for Social Security and Medicare benefits.
U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., who defended the government, said the “pressing human concern” was to avoid breaking up families of U.S. citizen children, something echoed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, CLINIC, and at least three Catholic colleges, which joined in a brief with more than 75 education and children’s advocacy organizations.
When the case was argued before the high court in mid-April, Justice Sonia Sotomayor stressed that the 4 million immigrants who might be given a temporary reprieve from deportation “are living in the shadows” and “are here whether we want them or not,” adding that the government had limited resources available for deportations.
(Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.)

Supreme Court refuses to hear abortion law appeal

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By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) –The day after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major abortion ruling striking down regulations on Texas abortion clinics and doctors, it rejected an appeal to reinstate laws in Mississippi and Wisconsin that would place similar requirements on abortion doctors.
It also denied an appeal of a Washington state rule requiring pharmacists to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives despite their religious objections to doing so.
The court June 28 refused to hear appeals from Mississippi and Wisconsin challenging lower-court rulings blocking their laws similar to the one in Texas that require abortion doctors in the two states to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
Federal appeals courts in Chicago and New Orleans had previously ruled against the states.
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement that the court’s decision was “not surprising” after its rule on the Texas law. He had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Texas case.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said he was disappointed by the court’s Texas ruling and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said the ruling endangers women’s lives.
According to The Associated Press, if Mississippi’s law had been enacted it would have likely led to the closure of the state’s only abortion clinic.
In a 5-3 vote June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down restrictions on Texas abortion clinics that required them to comply with standards of ambulatory surgical centers and required their doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
The case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, challenged a 2013 state law, H.B. 2, placing the requirements on the state’s abortion clinics. Opponents of the law claimed the requirements were aimed at closing abortion clinics. But the state and many pro-life advocates maintained that the law protected women’s health.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other religious groups submitted a joint friend of the court brief in the case supporting the Texas law, which was similar to other state laws regulating abortion clinics across the country.
The Supreme Court also refused to hear an appeal from pharmacists who have religious objections to a Washington state law that requires pharmacies to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives also called “morning after pills.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they would have heard the appeal and Alito wrote a 15-page dissent against the court’s decision not to hear the case, calling it an “ominous sign.”
“If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead, those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern,” he added.
Even before the Supreme Court issued a decision on whether it would take the case, the pharmacists’ case already had gathered 14 friend of the court briefs from supportive groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The case was filed with the court by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. Kristen Waggoner, a senior counsel with the firm, said that the state of Washington allows pharmacists to refer customers to other pharmacists for just about any reason — except reasons of conscience – and the other 49 states allow conscience-based referrals, which are fully supported by the American Pharmacists Association and dozens more pharmacy associations.
Follow Zimmermann on Twitter @carolmaczim.

Courts rule on three cases impacting Mississippians

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Federal court decisions in three cases in the last weeks of June directly impact the work of the church in Mississippi. Federal Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the implementation of HB 1523, also known as the religious liberty law, hours before it was to go into effect Friday, July 1. Earlier in the week, the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a proposed law that would have required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Turning away the case means the last abortion clinic in Mississippi remains open. In the third case, a tie vote in the Supreme Court blocked a plan to protect millions of immigrants from deportation.
The coincidence that the rulings all came during Fortnight for Freedom was not lost on local church leaders. “The U.S. bishops set aside these weeks for us to reflect on threats to religious liberty and to celebrate our protected American freedoms,” said Bishop Joseph Kopacz. “There is a certain irony to the fact that these all happened during the fortnight,” he added.
The bishop released a statement relating to the religious liberty law and the abortion case on Friday, July 1. “We must strike a just balance between church and state, not just for our own protection, but for the protection of other faiths and society as a whole,” wrote Bishop Kopacz. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in its statement on religious liberty states “‘This is not a Catholic issue. This is not a Jewish issue. This is not an Orthodox, Mormon, or Muslim issue. It is an American issue.’ Once the state begins to limit rights of people of one faith, we must be concerned for people of all faiths and beliefs,” he added.
The bishop has emphasized from the start of the HB1523 debate this is not an issue of whom the church serves, but how.
“The Catholic Church welcomes everyone in our parishes, schools and service centers. We have and will continue to help anyone in need through Catholic Charities, schools and parish ministries, regardless of your faith, beliefs or background. And we will continue to raise our voices both in our churches and in our communities in defense of human dignity and justice,” he wrote. The full text of his statement is available on page 9.
The religious liberty law was originally meant to protect religious organizations from violating their beliefs regarding marriage. The church sought exemptions from performing civil unions between gay partners, placing foster children or adopting children to gay couples and from being forced to hire people in ministry or education positions whose lifestyles contradicted church teachings. Lawmakers added a host of provisions to the original bill and critics called the resulting legislation discriminatory. Earlier in the year, Bishop Kopacz released a statement explaining the stance of the Diocese of Jackson on the issue.
“The Diocese of Jackson supported and would continue to support a religious exemption on behalf of the mission of the Catholic Church with regard to education and social services. We would like to continue to provide these services while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church,” said the bishop in April. “The diocese had no involvement in the other portions of the bill that addressed business and government operations. The church will continue to work to protect its First Amendment right to worship, to educate and to serve in the public domain while respecting the dignity of all citizens,” he continued.
State Attorney General Jim Hood said he would have to think ‘long and hard’ before filing an appeal. “I believe in the free exercise of religion and there will be a case in the future in which the U.S. Supreme Court will better define our religious rights. This case, however, is not that vehicle,” he said. Governor Phil Bryant, however, has called for an appeal.
In his ruling, Judge Reeves called HB1523 unconstitutional because, he says, it “grants special rights to citizens who hold one of three “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions” reflecting disapproval of lesbian, gay, transgender, and unmarried persons. That violates both the guarantee of religious neutrality and the promise of equal protection of the laws.” He goes on to say the rights of religious institutions are already protected under the First Amendment and do not need an additional protection. Another part of his ruling calls HB1523 unclear in its instructions in too many cases to which it might be applied.
In the second case, a lower court had blocked a Mississippi law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to be able to admit patients at local hospitals. “We are saddened at this country’s insistence on abortion, the destruction of innocent lives, and the laws that have been passed to support this continued destruction,” said Bishop Kopacz. “The laws requiring doctors to have admitting privileges, although seen as a roadblock for abortion facilities, are in reality a commitment to the good health of all,” he added. There is only one abortion clinic left in Mississippi, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. For more on this case, see the related story on page1.
The final court action involves the work of immigrants’ rights advocates in Mississippi. Advocates have reported an uptick in law enforcement raids in Hispanic communities in the state since January and they expect those raids to continue so the center is stepping up its efforts to make sure immigrants know their rights. See page 8 for more on the ruling and what the Migrant Support Center is doing to address the rights of immigrants here. See related stories on page 8.
Bishop Kopacz said the church in Mississippi will continue to work for justice for all through political involvement and social justice outreach, especially on behaf of those on the margins of our communities while respecting the dignity of each person. “People of faith are called to be active in the political process – to protect the dignity of each human being and to make our communities stronger overall.”

Catholic press faces ‘double mandate’

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By Julie Asher
ST. LOUIS (CNS) – Catholic communicators “have a double mandate: the First Amendment of the Constitution and the Gospel,” Greg Erlandson told the Catholic Media Conference in St. Louis.
Erlandson, former president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor, (OSV) received the Bishop John England Award June 2 from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.
“These are perilous times,” he said in his acceptance remarks. “We are looking at competing ideological agendas that too often are incompatible with the Gospel and that too often threaten the weakest among us – both born and unborn – the undocumented, the terminally ill, the poor and neglected.”
Catholic communicators’ vocation “is to be their voice,” said Erlandson. “Our vocation is to be the voice of the church. That is our responsibility and our privilege.”
Our Sunday Visitor, based in Huntington, Indiana, was founded 104 years ago “to be a voice for the church and the rights of Catholics.” he said.
He said that in that role, he “sought to defend the church’s right to speak out on all the issues of the day, to defend the church’s right to participate in the debates that animate the public square, but to do so without rancor or histrionics, to do so without blinders or defensiveness, but in the spirit of loyalty, honesty and intelligence that I hope has defined all that we published.”
In editorials and articles, OSV Newsweekly “has spoken out in defense of religious liberty and supported – both in court and in our pages – the opposition to the HHS (Health and Human Services) mandate regarding contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. We have addressed religious freedom issues worldwide, and defended the rights of migrants and refugees.”
The publication also has addressed the sex abuse crisis, he said, “both saluting the church for the policies it has instituted in the wake of the crisis, but also addressing the failures of leadership that occurred and that so wounded our church.”
He noted the publication’s defense of Catholic organizations “that have endured unjust attack,” he said, pointing in particular to Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency. CRS “has been the target of malicious and shameful witch hunts,” Erlandson said.
The England award is named for the Irish-born bishop of Charleston, South Carolina, who founded The Catholic Miscellany in 1822. As publisher of the newspaper, Bishop England defended separation of church and state, saying it was good for both entities. He also espoused freedom of religion. Presented annually, the award recognizes publishers in the Catholic press for the defense of First Amendment rights, such as freedom of the press and freedom of religion. It is the CPA’s highest award for publishers.
In 2015, Erlandson received the CPA’s St. Francis de Sales Award.
Mississippi Catholic production manager and creative services coordinator Contyna McNealy was recognized at this year’s Catholic Media Conference with a second place award for the design of the diocesan Saltillio Mission collection ad. Editor Maureen Smith attended the conference on behalf of the department of communications.

Bishop Cheri resting after heart bypass surgery

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By Peter Finney Jr.
NEW ORLEANS – After suffering a mild heart attack, Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri of the Archdiocese of New Orleans underwent double bypass surgery June 1 at Touro Infirmary and is now recuperating at his residence.
“I’d like to ask everyone to keep me in prayer and try not to contact me because it’s better that I can rest and recuperate and get back to ministry,” Bishop Cheri said.
Bishop Cheri conferred confirmation at St. Joachim Church in Marrero on May 27, and he woke up early the next morning having difficulty taking deep breaths.
He was taken by ambulance to Touro, where tests revealed he had “a slight heart attack” and also had two blocked arteries.
“They said one was blocked over 90 percent, and that’s the one they call the widow-maker,” Bishop Cheri said. “It’s one of those silent killers.”
Doctors first tried to resolve the blockages through less invasive angioplasty but stopped the procedure when they determined the blockages were too great.
Bishop Cheri had to wait until June 1 for the bypass surgery in order to give his heart time to recover from the angioplasty procedure.
The bypass surgery went fine, Bishop Cheri said, but he had to spend a few extra days in the hospital because he got lightheaded after taking a particular medicine.
“I was born with one kidney, which complicates a lot of stuff,” Bishop Cheri said. “They’re trying to balance out what’s going on. It’s going to take time. I’ve just got to give myself time.”
Bishop Cheri said his recuperation of several months would be a challenge because he considers himself a “horrible” patient.
“Patience is not my middle name,” he said. “God is testing me. I’m grateful for all the prayers.”
Bishop Cheri spoke in Jackson earlier this year at the diocesan celebration in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month.
(Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarionherald.org.)

Bishop: pray for Orlando

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ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) – Orlando Bishop John G. Noonan urged people of faith “to turn their hearts and souls” to God and pray for the victims, the families and first responders following the worst mass shooting in U.S. history June 12.
“A sword has pierced the heart of our city,” he said in a statement.
“The healing power of Jesus goes beyond our physical wounds but touches every level of our humanity: physical, emotional, social, spiritual,” he said. “Jesus calls us to remain fervent in our protection of life and human dignity and to pray unceasingly for peace in our world.”
The shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando left 50 people dead, including the gunman, and 53 wounded.
Police said a lone gunman identified as 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Mateen – opened fire inside the Pulse club in Orlando in the early morning hours. News reports said that Mateen, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, died in a gun battle with SWAT team members.
Across the nation, reaction from church and community leaders was swift, and in cities large and small, people organized candlelit vigils for the victims and their families the night of the shooting.
“Waking up to the unspeakable violence in Orlando reminds us of how precious human life is,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“Our prayers are with the victims, their families and all those affected by this terrible act,” he said in a statement June 12. “The merciful love of Christ calls us to solidarity with the suffering and to ever greater resolve in protecting the life and dignity of every person.”
“Our prayers and hearts are with the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, their families and our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters,” said Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich.
In Orlando, priests, deacons and counselors from the Diocese of Orlando and Catholic Charities of Central Florida were serving at an aid center established by city officials.
Throughout the day June 12, church personnel were helping victims and families “on the front lines of this tragedy,” Bishop Noonan said. “They are offering God’s love and mercy to those who are facing unimaginable sorrow. They will remain vigilant and responsive to the needs of our hurting brothers and sisters.”
In his statement, Archbishop Cupich expressed gratitude to the first responders and civilians at the scene of the shooting.
“In response to hatred, we are called to sow love,” he added. “In response to violence, peace. And, in response to intolerance, tolerance.”
In a letter to the Chicago archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach, Archbishop Cupich said: “For you here today and throughout the whole lesbian and gay community, who are particularly touched by the heinous crimes committed in Orlando, motivated by hate, driven perhaps by mental instability and certainly empowered by a culture of violence, know this: The Archdiocese of Chicago stands with you. I stand with you.”
He also urged Americans to “find the courage to face forthrightly the falsehood that weapons of combat belong anywhere in the civilian population.”
In Washington, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl said in a post on his blog said that “the love of Jesus Christ will prevail,” and while all too often “it appears it that our civilization is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil.”
He said all people of goodwill must stand together “in making another impassioned appeal for peace and security in our communities and throughout the world.”
Another Florida prelate, Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, expressed his sorrow over the tragedy and also addressed the gun rights issue.
“Our founding parents had no knowledge of assault rifles which are intended to be weapons of mass destruction. … It is long past time to ban the sale of all assault weapons. … If one is truly pro-life, then embrace this issue also and work for the elimination of sales to those who would turn them on innocents.”
Bishop Lynch also said that “sadly, it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people.”
Courage International, a Catholic organization that provides support for people who experience same-sex attraction, condemned “the atrocious violence” at the gay night club, adding that “in the face of such outrageous violence and loss of life, human words and explanations fall short.”
“So people of faith look to the everlasting mercy and compassion of almighty God, who ‘is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit,’” the group said, quoting Psalm 34.
The Courage statement also reminded people of what the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said 30 years ago about violence toward gay people: “It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.”

Bear witness to authentic freedom in Christ

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WASHINGTON (CNS) – “Witnesses to Freedom” is the theme of the U.S. bishops’ fifth annual Fortnight for Freedom, which opened June 21, the vigil of the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, and closes on Independence Day, July 4.
The opening Mass was celebrated at 7 p.m. in Baltimore at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Baltimore Archbishop William Lori as principal celebrant and homilist. Archbishop Lori is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.
The closing Mass will be celebrated at noon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington will be the principal celebrant, and Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik will be the homilist.
“Zubik” is the name given to the court case brought by many Catholic and other religious entities, including the Pittsburgh Diocese, to challenge the federal requirement that all employers, including most religious employers, provide employee health coverage of contraceptives and abortifacients, even if they are morally opposed to such coverage.
The legal challenge, which the U.S. Supreme Court sent back to the lower courts May 16, has been a flashpoint in the U.S. church’s fight on religious liberty issues.
The Fortnight for Freedom is “based on love of country and of liberty,” according to the USCCB. The aim is to “encourage Catholics, other Christians and all people of goodwill to set aside two weeks to reflect on religious freedom,” it said.
The annual observance also gets to the heart of what Pope Francis said during his visit last September to the United States, the USCCB said, noting the pope “encouraged us to nurture, promote and defend the precious gift of religious freedom.”
This year the USCCB, along with Jesuit-run Stonyhurst College in the Diocese of Lancashire, England, is coordinating a U.S. tour of relics of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher to promote respect for religious liberty. Both were executed during the Protestant Reformation by King Henry VIII for their Catholic beliefs.
The relics will go to Miami, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington.
In addition, the USCCB is highlighting the Christian witness of 14 women and men – one each day of the fortnight observance, including:
– Blessed Oscar Romero, the slain archbishop of San Salvador.
– The Little Sisters of the Poor, the order at the forefront of the court fight against the contraceptive mandate.
– The Martyrs of Compiegne, France. The 16 Carmelites were guillotined during the French Revolution for defying the government’s suppression of their monastery.
– The Coptic Christians who were killed by Islamic State militants last year.
“Reflecting on the lives of these great men and women can show us how we might serve as witnesses to freedom today,” said the USCCB statement on the 2016 Fortnight for Freedom.
“It is remarkable to see the witness of so many martyrs throughout the history of the church who love the land and people of their birth, even as they are being persecuted,” it said. “We can emulate this in our work today to promote religious freedom in the U.S., as it is a piece of our efforts to contribute to the good of all Americans.”
Information about the fortnight and various resources to help plan local observances are available online at www.Fortnight4Freedom.com.
The USCCB suggests several ways parishes can celebrate the fortnight, including by holding a prayer vigil for religious freedom, organizing a study group on religious freedom issues and hosting a parish picnic to celebrate religious freedom.

Memphis deacons share bond with Jackson families

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MEMPHIS – Twenty-two men were ordained into the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Memphis on Saturday, May 21, by Bishop J. Terry Steib. In a Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, visiting clergy and diocesan deacons joined with hundreds of parishioners in the ordination ceremony. The men ordained from the Diocese of Jackson went through their formation program in Memphis with these men, traveling to Tennessee for classes. Instructors from St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana would fly to Memphis to offer the classes.
The two classes of deacons became quite close. The candidates from Jackson attended the Memphis ordination. The newly ordained deacons from Memphis then turned around to attend the ordination of deacons in Jackson.

Friars to make pilgrimage on foot, will celebrate Mass, promote vocations

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By Peter Finney Jr.
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) – The idea of making a walking pilgrimage in the United States took root about four years ago when Dominican Fathers Francis Orozco and Thomas Schaefgen were studying together for the priesthood.
They saw the movie, “The Way,” featuring Martin Sheen, who portrayed a father honoring his late son’s memory by completing the 450-mile Camino de Santiago, the “Way of St. James,” a pilgrimage route across Spain taken for centuries by pilgrims.
“We had both studied abroad in Spain, but we thought, why don’t we do something more local, something in this country?” said Father Orozco, chaplain of the Catholic Student Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “We looked up places, and there really weren’t any established pilgrimages in the U.S., so we said, ‘Let’s make up our own.’”
From that seed sprouted “Friars on Foot,” a 478-mile pilgrimage on foot from New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee, which will begin after the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Orleans May 29 and arrive in Memphis June 29.
Folks can follow the two young friars and their travels at the website friarsonfoot.wordpress.com.
Father Orozco, 33, and Father Schaefgen, 32, who is director of the Catholic Student Center at Tulane University, will wear their white Dominican habits and take small backpacks with water and other essentials such as sunscreen, but they will carry no money or cellphones.
“We want to do this very minimally,” Father Orozco told the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. “We will not carry any money and we will sort of beg. We hope people will provide us with apples and granola bars. We don’t plan to use any money. We will carry ID cards and medical insurance cards in case that’s needed. We’ve compromised with our superior that we will have somebody update the website every time we reach a destination.”
The friars plan to stay overnight at Catholic churches or with Catholic families along the way, celebrating Mass and even giving history and vocation talks about the 800-year-old congregation – the Order of Preachers – whose earliest members were itinerant preachers, walking from town to town.
They will average about 16 miles a day. There are only two stops in Mississippi without Catholic churches – Pickens and West – and on those nights they probably will stay at a local Protestant church.
The friars are encouraging people to join them on the walk, if only for an hour or two.
“We will have a pilgrim rule, and part of it will be to the pray the rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours every day, but that won’t take up the entire time,” Father Orozco said. “If there are people with us, we can talk about whatever they would like to talk about.”
Since walking along interstate highways is prohibited, the Dominicans will take local and state highways. The pilgrimage route will basically track Highway 51 north to Memphis.
The pilgrimage will conclude June 29 at St. Peter Church in Memphis, the National Shrine of St. Martin de Porres.
So what do their families and their fellow friars think?
“As we progressed, the first reaction was the question ‘why’?” Father Orozco admitted. “Then it was just a matter of explaining. In many ways, I’m glad it’s taken four years to plan it because it gave them time to soften up to the idea. We presented this to the province a couple of years ago, and I think the vague response was, ‘These are young guys. Once they’re ordained priests they’ll forget about it.’”
Surprise.
“I bet some of the friars forgot about it,” Father Orozco said. “Some said, ‘I guess they’re really going.’ I had one student tell me, ‘You know, it’s very humid in Mississippi, right?’ By and large, 99 percent are excited about it.”
(Finney is executive editor/general manager of the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.)