By: By Jennifer Willems

The ringing of church bells and Sunday homilies devoted to the subject are just two ways Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Peoria will “promote, protect, and pray for religious freedom” during a “Fortnight for Freedom” from June 21 to July 4.

“I have called on all pastors of our diocese to offer parishioners opportunities to learn more about the gift of religious freedom and pray for its protection,” said Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, in a letter read at all Masses on the weekend of June 16-17. (See the full text of the letter here.)

The fortnight is being promoted around the country by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to several recent federal and state threats to religious freedom. Among the chief concerns is the Health and Human Services mandate requiring most religoius employers to provide free health insurance coverage for contraceptives, abortion inducing drugs, and sterilizations.

At a rally in downtown Peoria earlier this month, people of faith throughout central Illinois made it clear that they would obey God and not President Obama if the president proceeds with the mandate.

“Now is the time, as we do at this rally, to be educated about this gift of religious freedom, to stand up in advocacy against those ways that inhibit our religious freedom and to call for a change to this mandate,” Msgr. James Kruse, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria, told the faithful who filled the Peoria County Courthouse Plaza with signs, songs and prayer in protest of the mandate on June 8.

The “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” rally was part of a series of peaceful demonstrations in about 145 cities around the United States that were organized by the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, based in Michigan. It is estimated that about 63,000 people took part.

Also speaking at the Peoria rally were Pastors Kerry Frantz of Grace Presbyterian Church and Joe Meyer of Redeemer Lutheran Church, both in Peoria, and attorney Brian Heller. Rachel West-Kramer of Grace Presbyterian Church led participants in patriotic songs, such as “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful” and “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee).”

FOLLOWING JESUS’ EXAMPLE
Msgr. Kruse said he was speaking in place of Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, who had scheduling conflicts.

“Please do not interpret his absence today to mean in any way that he does not support us in our cause,” Msgr. Kruse said. “Obviously Bishop Jenky has been a leader in standing up against the Health and Human Services mandate.”

The people responded by cheering, applauding and chanting “God bless Bishop Jenky.”

Cheering would interrupt Msgr. Kruse several more times during his remarks about how the HHS mandate violates religious freedom, especially when he spoke about the narrow exemption clause put forth by the Obama administration.

“By that exemption clause the federal government for the first time, in such an egregious way, has taken upon itself to define what is religious and what is not religious — a direct violation of our First Amendment rights,” he said.

“Who among us could possibly advance the idea . . . that when (Jesus) said go out to all peoples and teach the nations that he simply meant for us to stay in our church buildings and not go out and build schools, universities, Newman Centers,” Msgr. Kruse asked. “All of that is a function and activity of our faith.”

In the same way, people of faith follow Jesus’ example of healing people by building hospitals and clinics and striving to serve those in need through agencies and organizations like Catholic Charities, he said.

“All of those are a function of our faith, a function of our religious exercise and the mandate directly violates our religious freedom,” Msgr. Kruse told those assembled.

PRAYING FOR PRESIDENT
Thanking the military men and women present for their service, Msgr. Kruse asked if they envisioned “a single man with one signature to a mandate to alone and personally amend the Constitution of the United States” that they had promised to uphold. The answer he received was a clear “No!”

Noting that the U.S. bishops had called for a “Fortnight for Freedom” from June 21 to July 4, Msgr. Kruse urged people to use it as “a time to learn again about religious freedom, a time to pray and cherish this gift, and a time to advocate its protection.”

“May we all stand together and stand up and bring an end to this mandate, the most egregious attack on our religious freedoms.”

Pastor Meyer said he often prays for President Obama and asked rally participants to do the same thing.

“We pray for your family. We pray for your administration. We pray, and I say this from the altar all the time, that God would bring wise counsel around the president to do the right thing,” he said.

“Why would you, Mr. President, anger and alienate fine Christian people who have been praying for you day in and day out since the day you took office,” Pastor Meyer asked. “My prayer is that he would not. To which I say, may it be so.”