In this time of increasing polarization in our culture, we can contribute to a better
understanding of religious freedom in a way that respects all people.
We are called to follow Christ as missionary disciples by seeking the truth, serving others,
and living our faith in all that we do. Regardless of your tradition, we invite all people of
faith to join in prayer and in a great national campaign of teaching and witness for
religious liberty. Let us take a few moments each day from June 21 - July 4 to pray,
reflect, and take action on religious liberty, both here in this country and abroad.
This may take on many forms as there are beautiful religious traditions in our country and
will itself serve as a sign of the religious diversity that flows from religious freedom and
that makes our country great.
Boyne Valley Catholic Community encourages parishioners, and welcomes people of all
faiths in the Boyne community, to pray a Novena for Religious Liberty from June 25 thru
July 3, 2017. The Novena can be found at the entrances of the churches.
This format of prayer and reflection is based on, and excerpted from, Reflections for the
Fortnight for Freedom developed bythe Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). These resources were created to
help people of faith learn more about our courageous forebears in the faith and to follow
their example. The full reflections and additional material may be found online
at www.usccb.org and then click on the link for Fortnight for Freedom.
Pray, Reflect, Act
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day One – June 25
In the opening chapter of Declaration on Religious Liberty, the Council Fathers at Vatican II forthrightly declared
that “the human person has a right to religious freedom.” This right is founded upon the intrinsic dignity of the
human person.
From God’s revelation we know that the dignity of human beings resides in their being created in the image and
likeness of God (Gn1:27). Like God we are intelligent beings with free will. Because of this we can know the truth
and perform God-like actions, such as being loving, kind, forgiving, etc. Reason itself, in knowing what a human
being is, confirms that we possess a dignity and worth that exceeds the rest of creation and that cannot be violated,
but rather needs to be protected and fostered.
What human beings believe concerning God is of supreme importance. Religious belief lies at the very center of
who we are in relation to what is most central and cherished in our lives. Therefore, the Council insists that the
religious convictions of individuals or groups should never be coerced but must be held freely, protected by a civil
constitutional right.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Two – June 26
The Council Fathers note that it is precisely because human beings are “endowed with reason and free will” that
they naturally seek what is true and good and also, then, have “a moral obligation” to search for the truth. This is
especially the case of seeking religious truth. Moreover, the truth they believe they have come to know binds
them to that truth. Even if the “truth” they believe is not actually true, yet, because they believe it is true, they
are bound to follow their conscience. As long as what they believe does not infringe the just rights of others, they
cannot be coerced into giving up or changing what they believe.
Moreover, the Council states that in order for human beings to fulfill their obligation to seek the truth and live by
it, they must be free to do so. No one or no authority is to force them to believe something to which they
themselves have not freely given their consent.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Three – June 27
God is the author of all truth and all good. All of what is true and good in our world and cosmos finds its source in
God, the Creator of all. Moreover, what is true and good about ourselves as human beings finds its source in God
in that he created us in his image and likeness. Thus, for the Council Fathers, all that exists is in conformity with
the divine law, the providential plan of God. Because of this, the Council emphasizes that truth must be “sought
after in a manner proper to the dignity of the human person and his social nature.”
This means that human beings must be free to seek the truth. However, human beings do not seek the truth as
isolated individuals. The search for the truth is common to all, and so all share in the finding of truth and all share
in the receiving of truth from others. Because the search for truth, the finding of truth, and the sharing of truth is
a social exercise, human beings must not only be free to search for truth in the hope of finding it, they must also
be free to communicate and discuss together the truth they believe they have found. It is through our free assent
that we each personally lay hold of the truth.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Four – June 28
It is through their consciences that human beings perceive the requirements of the divine law. Human beings
must follow faithfully their conscience if they are to grow in their knowledge of and union with God. Again, the
Council restates that, because of this, no one should either be forced to act contrary to his or her conscience or be
forbidden to act in accordance with his or her conscience. This is especially the case when it involves one’s
religious beliefs. The Council Fathers note that this applies not only to one’s internal private religious acts but also
to public communal religious acts. Human beings hold religious beliefs within a community of like-minded
believers and so have the right to publicly live out their beliefs.
To forbid the just and proper public expressions of religious belief would be contrary to the order that God has
established for human beings as social and religious beings.
The Council Fathers want to ensure that religious liberty is understood to be both private and public. It cannot be
limited to what takes places in houses of worship. Rather, since religion is by its nature a social phenomenon, its
presence within the broader society and culture should not be hindered or forbidden.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Five – June 29
What the Council Fathers teach in this short paragraph is very important. They previously stated that
governments should not deny religious liberty. Here they state what governments should positively do with
regards to religion. Since people, through their religious beliefs, direct their lives toward God, governments are
positively to take this into account. Not only should governments not hinder religious life, they should also “show
it favor.” Since religious belief is a good within culture and society, governments should foster and aid the good
that religion brings to the commonwealth. This does not mean that a government should favor one religion over
another or that it should attempt to direct what religions should believe or do. Rather, governments are to create
an environment in which religious life flourishes for the good of all. In providing such an environment where
religious life prospers, governments contribute to the good of individuals as well as to the good of society as a
whole.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Six – June 30
While the Council Fathers insist that religious bodies must be free to teach and bear witness to their faith, they
equally stress that this freedom must never be abused. It is not only governments that can deny their freedom; in
attempting to spread their own beliefs, religions should not force others, physically or psychologically, to convert.
Rather, each person’s dignity and freedom must be maintained. The accepting of religious beliefs must be an act
of freedom, otherwise it is done not because it is believed to be true but rather out of fear and force. The right to
profess and proclaim one’s own faith cannot violate the same right of another.
That being said, religious bodies should be free to provide reasons as to why their beliefs are true and why it
would be of value for others to believe what they believe. They should also be free to address how their beliefs
contribute to the good of society.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Seven – July 1
Once again, the Council Fathers turn to what they consider a very important issue. It is not simply that
governments should not deny or impede the religious freedom of their citizens, it is also of the utmost importance
that they positively, through just laws, be the guardians of religious freedom, so that no constituency— religious
or secular—within society would seek to undermine the religious freedom of all. While few today would consider
this, the next point that the Council Fathers make is also very significant. Governments should actually “help
create conditions favorable to the fostering of religious life.” While governments do not control religions, they
should recognize their value and so promote their well-being. This allows all religious bodies and their members
to exercise their religious rights and “fulfill their religious duties.” The government’s fostering the religious life of
its citizens not only benefits those citizens but also, the Council states, contributes to the good of society as a
whole. It helps society grow in its understanding and implementation of what contributes to justice and peace.
This justice and peace find their origin in God, who desires the good of all.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Eight – July 2
Because all human beings possess equal dignity, value, and worth, the government is to ensure that this equality
is maintained both for the good of the individual and for the good of society as a whole. This equality specifically
should not be violated on religious grounds. Each religious body and the members of that body have equal rights
to religious liberty. This equality demands that there be no discrimination based upon one’s religious beliefs.
The Council Fathers now stress that, based upon this equality among its citizens, no government is permitted to
impose in any way “the profession or repudiation of any religion.” Such an imposition is a violation of the right to
be true to one’s conscience.
Because of the freedom of conscience, the government is also not permitted to deny a person the right to join or
leave a religious body. The government has no right to stipulate what a person can or cannot believe. If the above
is true, then the Council states that it is all the more wrong when “force is brought to bear in any way in order to
destroy or repress religion.”
This not only applies to governments but also to religious bodies themselves. No religious body is permitted to
harass or seek to eliminate another religious group.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Opening Prayer
We pray that all Christians would have the courage to serve God with our whole lives, and to live out our
faith with boldness and compassion.
Reflection for Day Nine – July 3
In concluding its Declaration of Religious Freedom, the Council rejoices in the fact that religious freedom has been
enshrined in the constitutions of many countries as well as in international statements. However, the Council
Fathers are well aware that religious freedom is not guaranteed merely when it is stated on a piece of paper. It
must be exercised by a living body of people. Moreover, there are actual governments that act against religious
communities, sometime in the name of religion. The Council Fathers find such situations appalling and ask that
Catholics and all people of goodwill work to rectify this injustice.
Novena Prayer
Pray the Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to
worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our
faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the
Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when
they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of
the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons
and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of
our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Copyright © United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.
No special permission is required to use this prayer, so long as no modification is made and proper attribution is given as noted on the
resources.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/index.cfm
The document Reflections for the Fortnight for Freedom was developed as a resource by the Ad Hoc
Committee for Religious Liberty of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It was
reviewed by the committee chairman, Archbishop William E. Lori, and has been authorized for
publication by the undersigned.
Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, General Secretary, USCCB