Prayer for the Protection
of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Call to Fortnight For

Freedom in Denver
 

Defend the God-given right
to practice your faith  

Bishop James Conley, apostolic administrator of the Denver Archdiocese, called all faithful to join a national initiative in defense of religious freedom through prayer, education and public action.

The archdiocese has planned a series of events from June 21-July 4 in conjunction with the U.S. bishop's two-week initiative called "Fortnight for Freedom." The initiative was prompted by threats to the Church’s religious freedom, most notably the federal Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs that Catholics and others find morally objectionable. The mandate has drawn heavy criticism and the bishops have warned it could force Catholic schools, hospitals and charitable agencies to close.

Dioceses across the country will begin Fortnight for Freedom, which starts in Denver with a lecture and continues with Mass at the John Paul II Center and days of fasting.

Read more about the initiative at www.fortnight4freedom.org, or click here for Fortnight for Freedom reflections from the USCCB.

Read the Denver Catholic Register's coverage of the initiative here.

Upcoming Events:

• What: Archbishop’s Lecture
  Speaker: Robert Kraynak, Ph.D.
  Topic: “Christian Faith and American Democracy: A Growing Gap?”
  When: 7 p.m. June 21
  Where: Bonfils Hall, JPII Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver
  *3 copies of "Render Unto Caesar" by Archbishop Charles Chaput will be raffled off
   
• What: Mass
  Celebrant: Father Giovanni Capucci, adjutant judicial vicar
  When: 7 a.m. June 22
  Where: Christ the King Chapel, JPII Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver
   
• What: St. Thomas More Society lecture
  Speaker: Robert Kraynak, Ph.D.
  Topic: “Catholic Politicians: Revisiting JFK’s 1960 Speech on the Absolute Separation of Church and State”
  When: after 7 a.m. Mass June 22, approximately 8 a.m.
  Where: Cardinal Stafford Library, JPII Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver
   
• What: Lecture
  Speaker: J.D. Flynn, chancellor
  Topic: “Accommodation Abomination: the HHS Mandate and American Law”
  When: 7 p.m. June 27
  Where: St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish, 898 14th St., Boulder
 
• What: Lecture
  Speaker: J.D. Flynn, chancellor
  Topic: “Accommodation Abomination: the HHS Mandate and American Law”
  When: 7 p.m. June 28
  Where: St. Peter Catholic Parish, 915 12th St., Greeley, CO 80631
 
• What: Days of fasting
  When: June 22 and June 29