Cardinal Wuerl: bishops' "Fortnight" raising awareness

(Vatican Radio) The Catholic Bishops of the United States have dedicated the fourteen days from June 21^st to July 4^th, Independence Day, to prayer and public action aimed at recovering, renewing and reinforcing the heritage of liberty – especially religious liberty – in the United States.

This “Fortnight for Freedom” sees special events scheduled on both the national and the diocesan levels, aimed at teaching and witness for religious liberty.

The Archbishop of Washington, DC, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, told Vatican Radio that one of the main goals of the fortnight is to raise awareness of the central importance that religious freedom has in the national life of the people of the United States. “We have always had these rights – they are guaranteed in our Constitution,” said Cardinal Wuerl, “so we assume everything is fine.” This creates a particular complacency in which threats can grow and expand while escaping the notice of many citizens. “We need to lift up for people to see, that some of [these rights] are being eroded,” he said. The Cardinal Archbishop of Washington still believes in the power and relevance of the Christian message. “Christ represents life, and freedom, and a whole way of looking at reality,” he said, “and our young people, young adults are responding to that.” Listen to Cardinal Wuerl’s extended conversation with Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri: