Photo By Michael Alexander

ATLANTA—Catholics around the Atlanta Archdiocese gathered in parishes for prayer, retreat houses for reflection, and even a pizzeria to learn about religious liberty during the Fortnight for Freedom.

The U.S. Catholic bishops called for the second Fortnight for Freedom, a time of prayer and fasting to raise awareness of challenges to religious liberty, both nationally and internationally. It ran from June 21 to July 4.

Mary Boyert, Respect Life Ministry Director, speaks to a group of young adults at Dagwood’s Pizza, Norcross, on the topic of religious freedom, June 19. Photo By Michael Alexander

In a Theology on Tap event, some two dozen women and men attended a three-hour session June 19 at Dagwood’s Pizza in Norcross. Pizza and salad were served and then Mary Boyert, director of the archdiocesan Respect Life Ministry, took the microphone to talk about religious liberty and the federal mandate requiring employers to provide and pay for employees’ contraceptives, abortifacients and voluntary sterilization.

The most pressing concern for the bishops is the infringement of religious liberty, said Boyert. That is most clearly seen in the mandate, she said.

Opponents object to paying for contraceptives, including Ella and Plan B medications, and other reproductive medical procedures they find morally wrong, she said. And proposed accommodations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services do not address these objections, especially in the case of business owners with moral objections, she said.

The Atlanta Archdiocese filed a lawsuit, as did scores of other dioceses, church ministries, and businesses owners, including non-Catholics, to stop the enforcement of the HHS mandate, she said. The Archdiocese of Atlanta lawsuit is still pending. Some cases around the country have been dismissed until the plaintiffs begin to accrue the large fines that they will be assessed when they don’t abide by the mandate. Then the plaintiffs can refile the cases.

Boyert said that the HHS mandate is also a great concern because the government has shown its willingness to override the well-known religious tenets of denominations and the consciences of individual business owners.

“If they can do one thing, what else can be done? It is something to be concerned about,” she said.

The mandate is just one in a series of steps the government has taken that force Catholics and others to act against their deeply held religious beliefs, she said. The HHS mandate is the biggest concern, Boyert said, but not the only one. The challenges surrounding the same-sex marriage debate will also confront the church , she said.

Many left the talk wanting to dive deeper into the topic.

Candis Hunter, who is the leader of the Young Adult Ministry at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Atlanta, said while she is familiar with the issue, she wants to examine the church’s position more closely.

She asked if a program that accepts government money to run programs has an obligation to follow  the rules set by the government. Hunter said she works for the federal government at the Centers for Disease Control.

“I need to do more research and look at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ topics,” she said.

Rosa Huang, who works in IT and attends St. Benedict Church, Johns Creek, said, “Potentially a lot of freedom could be taken away because we didn’t voice our opinion.”

Janice Givens organized the event.

“I hope they tell 25 more people. I hope they go and pray about it, educate themselves and others about it,” she said.

Givens said she follows the HHS mandate issue closely.

“So many people are not aware and I wanted to wake them up,” she said.

On Monday, June 24, Jasper’s Our Lady of the Mountains Church held a Mass to mark the Fortnight for Freedom. Parishioners had participated a year earlier in the first fortnight, showing “A Man for All Seasons,” the film depicting the martyrdom of St. Thomas More, and hosting votive Masses.

This fortnight, a small group gathered to pray during the evening Mass on the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist celebrated by Father Charles Byrd.

In his prepared homily, Father Byrd said, “The simple fact of the matter is America is doomed without the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church is the best part of America” because of the network of charity and service established in the nation by religious and laity, including universities, schools, hospitals, children’s shelters and innumerable other charitable works.

He said people will be judged by how well they have proclaimed the Gospel, and a key part of it is “the inherent value of human life and the irreplaceable and irrevocable prestige and value of the family.”

Many people did not attend the event, and he thinks many Catholics don’t support the efforts of the Fortnight for Freedom. But Father Byrd said the issue of religious freedom is too important to keep quiet.

“We have to speak out,” he said.

Father Byrd said the parish has an icon of St. John the Baptist, with the words, “Woe to the prophets who are mute for fear that their words will not be heeded!”

“We need the church to say things like marriage is between a man and a woman and abortion is abhorrent,” he said.

Dr. Matthew Bagot, center, an assistant professor at Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala., leads a weekend retreat entitled “Church/World, Church/State: The Social and Political Vision of Vatican II.” The retreat, one of the Fortnight For Freedom educational opportunities around the Archdiocese of Atlanta, took place at Ignatius House, Atlanta, June 21-23. Photo By Michael Alexander

At Atlanta’s Ignatius Jesuit Retreat House, a dozen men and woman explored how the church sees religious liberty as part of the Spring Hill College Summer Institute of Christian Spirituality June 22.

Matthew Bagot, Ph.D., a theology professor from Spring Hill, a Jesuit college in Alabama, used the Second Vatican Council document “Dignitatis Humanae,” the declaration on religious liberty, to examine the intersection between the church and government.

Cathy Clipson, 48, attends St. Jude Church in Atlanta, where she is a lector, involved with Christ Renews His Parish ministry, and is pursuing her master’s degree in theological studies.

The American experience of the separation of the church and the government has been instrumental in shaping the church’s understanding, she said. The church and governments once were too closely connected, which led to corruption, too often, she said.

American history shows “church and state need to be separate, but church and society can never be separated,” she said. Catholics must be involved in the culture and bring Catholic values to the public discussion, she said.

“Our job is to be politically active. Our job is not to be the government,” she said.

Catholics have the duty to form their conscience before making decisions,  she said. That means read the Scriptures, know church Tradition, follow world events, and then “look in our own hearts to see where the Holy Spirit is guiding us,” she said.

“I am renewed in the Tradition of my church, which is wise and gives us a lot,” she said.

Deacon Sami Jajeh, of St. John Chrysostom Melkite Catholic Church, Atlanta, said the weekend’s lesson for him was the importance of continual dialogue, especially with people with a different point of view.

At his church, parishioners have had programs about the Fortnight for Freedom and the Melkite archbishop signed a letter advocating for religious freedom, said Deacon Jajeh.

The different roles of the church and the state put the responsibility on the faithful, he said. “It’s the separation of church and state. We still have to work in society. We, the faithful, live in society. We, the faithful, need to work with our government, work with our leaders to better society.”

Dialogue is the only way to move forward, otherwise there is the risk of violence, he said.

“As Americans we take (religious freedom) for granted. So many places it is very difficult or impossible to practice your religion,” he said.