The CatholicTV® Network to Air Special Coverage During Fortnight for Freedom

The US Bishops have called for “Fortnight for Freedom,” a 14-day period of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom, from June 21-July 4. The bishops of the United States have recommended that Catholics focus "all the energies the Catholic community can muster" to heightening people’s awareness of the most cherished liberty: Religious Freedom.

The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “Fortnight for Freedom”. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action emphasizes Christian and American heritage of liberty.

The CatholicTV® Network will participate in the Fortnight for Freedom with special programming from June 21 to July 4, to rally support for the protection of religious freedom in the United States.

Throughout the two week period called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Father Robert Reed, president of CatholicTV will offer a daily reflection on the theme of religious freedom in a series of Blinks.

In support of this call to action the CatholicTV® Network has arranged a special hour-long discussion with Cardinal Seán O’Malley and a group of young Catholics in a live forum on the evening of Monday, June 25, 2012 from 8-9PM ET. The event will include a discussion panel, and will be moderated by ClearVoice's John Monahan.

CatholicTV President, Father Robert P. Reed, commented on the Fortnight:

This summer, the bishops of the United States have recommended that we focus "all the energies the Catholic community can muster" to heightening people’s awareness of our most cherished liberty: Religious Freedom. When our freedoms are threatened, we need to speak frankly and with courage and now is such a time... As American citizens, we need to be on guard, for religious liberty is under attack. Join us here on The CatholicTV Network between June 21 and the 4th of July as we celebrate Religious Liberty and pray urgently for a new birth of freedom in our beloved country.

Coverage will be available on CatholicTV and CatholicTV.com. Comments and questions will be addressed LIVE during the event on CatholicTV’s Facebook. Viewers can also join the conversation by tweeting @CatholicTV (#fortnight4freedom). The event will also be simulcast on Relevant Radio across the US and on WQOM in Boston, MA.

The CatholicTV® Network to Support the Nationwide Religious Freedom Rally to Oppose the HHS Mandate

The Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom is being held Friday, March 23, 2012. The theme for the Rally is “Stand Up for Religious Freedom—Stop the HHS Mandate!”

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be participating in these peaceful rallies, organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to oppose the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that requires all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.

Religious leaders and other public figures will speak out against the HHS Mandate at each Rally site. Holding signs reading “Stand Up for Religious Freedom” and “Stop the HHS Mandate,” participants will offer hymns and prayers for our nation and pass out literature to the public about why the HHS Mandate is unconstitutional and un-American.

President of the CatholicTV Network, Father Robert Reed, spoke out against the HHS Mandate in support of religious freedom:

I believe that not just Catholics, but all citizens need to oppose the HHS mandate, recognizing the dangerous precedent it would set. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion. As a result, the mandate would impose a law that contradicts the conscience of many faithful individuals.

Here's Father Reed's official statement on the HHS mandate, as seen on the CatholicTV® Network: