By Maria Wiering
EWTN announced plans to broadcast a 7 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore June 21. Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore is to celebrate the Mass, which begins the Fortnight for Freedom, a 14-day campaign calling for prayer, education and public action for the preservation of religious liberty in America.
EWTN also plans to broadcast a 10 a.m. June 22 Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, celebrated by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, as well as a 12:10 p.m. July 4 Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., which will end the Fortnight. Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington plans to celebrate the July 4 Mass with a homily from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia.
EWTN will broadcast the Masses via television and radio.
The Catholic network also plans to offer religious freedom-related programming during the Fortnight. Programming can be found at www.religiousliberties.org.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called for the Fortnight in their Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty’s March 2012 statement, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.” In the statement, the bishops outlined local, state and government actions they perceive as threats to religious liberty, including the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services’ mandate requiring all employers, including most religious employers, to provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, which violate Catholic Church teachings.
According to EWTN, it was the first to file a lawsuit against the mandate. It has since been joined by almost 50 entities, including dioceses, health care providers, colleges and universities, charities and employers.
Copyright (c) June 14, 2012 CatholicReview.org
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