ATLANTA—The “Fortnight for Freedom: Freedom to Bear Witness” is taking place June 21-July 4, a time when the liturgical calendar celebrates a series of martyrs who remained faithful despite persecution by political power including St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for the fortnight observance to include 14 days of prayer, education and action in support of religious freedoms.

The theme of this year’s event is the freedom to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel.

This is the fourth Fortnight for Freedom with a variety of parish events in the Archdiocese of Atlanta scheduled including:

St. Stephen the Martyr Church, 5373 Wydella Road, Lilburn, will dedicate Tuesday, June 30, Eucharistic adoration in the parish to protection of religious liberty. Adoration hours are 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. All are welcome.

St. Monica Church in Duluth is leading a daily rosary June 21-July 3 at the Suwanee City Hall, 330 Town Center Ave., Suwanee, at 7:30 p.m., as an example of a public witness of faith in the community. Different groups and organizations in the parish have been invited to consider leading prayers on one of the nights. Contact Annie Valenty at annievalenty@yahoo.com for information.

The parish, located at 1700 Buford Highway, Duluth, also has religious liberty information and educational pamphlets available on its narthex education wall. Information includes a 14-day reflection book from the U.S. bishops, the novena for religious liberty, and religious freedom cards.

Holy Cross Church, 3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, will gather for a patriotic rosary on Sun., June 28, at 3 p.m. in the church sanctuary and invites all to come and pray for the nation and the freedoms enjoyed.

St. Oliver Plunkett Church, 3200 Brooks Drive, Snellville, will have a parish celebration of a patriotic rosary in the Rosary Garden between the 9:30 and 11:15 a.m. Masses on Sun., June 28. The approximate start time is 10:30 a.m.

At Our Lady of the Mountains Church, 1908 Waleska Highway 108, Jasper, all weekend Masses June 27-28 will have homilies on the Fortnight for Freedom.

Parishioners of St. Margaret D’Youville Church, 85 Gloster Road, NW, Lawrenceville, will pray for the protection of religious liberty during all fortnight Masses.

The Respect Life ministry of the archdiocese, which is publicizing the Fortnight for Freedom, advised parishioners to check parish bulletins for more events.

Parishes needing resources may go to www.fortnightforfreedom.org to download bulletin inserts or fact sheets. More information on threats to religious liberty identified by the U.S. bishops may also be found on the website.

Pope Francis has spoken extensively about religious freedoms, including an address in June 2014 to the Conference on International Religious Freedom and the Global Clash of Values.

The pope said that religious freedom is not only that of private thought or worship. “It is the liberty to live, both privately and publicly, according to the ethical principles resulting from found truth,” he said.