Catholics urged to resist unjust laws, join in 'fortnight for freedom'
(April 13, 2012) American Catholics must resist unjust laws "as a duty of citizenship
and an obligation of faith," a committee of the bishops of the United States said
in a new statement on religious liberty. Titled "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,"
the 12-page statement by the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty also calls for
"a fortnight for freedom" from June 21, the vigil of the feasts of St. John Fisher
and St. Thomas More, to July 4, U.S. Independence Day. "This special period of prayer,
study, catechesis and public action would emphasize both our Christian and American
heritage of liberty," the committee said. "Dioceses and parishes around the country
could choose a date in that period for special events that would constitute a great
national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty." The statement,
made public on Thursday, was approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops'
Administrative Committee during its March meeting for publication as a committee statement.
The ad hoc committee pointed to several "concrete examples" of recent threats to religious
liberty, such as contraception, sterilization, some abortion-inducing drugs free of
charge and certain immigration laws in some states. "An unjust law is 'no law at all,'
the committee said. “It cannot be obeyed, and therefore one does not seek relief
from it, but rather its repeal,” it added.