Barack Obama Proclaims Religious Liberty for National Day of Prayer

To commemorate the 62nd annual National Day of Prayer on the first Thursday in May, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation.  The text of Mr. Obama's 2014 proclamation touted religious liberty and those being persecuted for their convictions.

Those are noble sentiments, if only they were observed.  Dennis Miller has quipped that citizens who disagree with Mr. Obama are often treated worse then his enemies.  The Obama Administration has been adamant about enforcing the Contraception Mandate upon religiously oriented organizations (but not churches themselves) which find abortifacients abhorrent.  

The U.S. Supreme Court  may decide on the constitutionality of this Contraception Mandate when it rules on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby in June.   Nonetheless, Dr. James Dobson of Family Talk (and previously the founder of Focus on the Family), used his remarks at the 2014 National Day of Prayer to underline how deeply he finds Obama's abortion mandate offense and that he will fight for his religious freedom.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops will be sponsoring their third Fortnight for Freedom from June 21st to July 4th.  This year, the Fortnight for Freedom  will focus on the freedom to serve the poor and vulnerable in accord with human dignity and the Church's teaching.  But living one's faith outside of the doors of the Church requires religious liberty.  

If we relied upon words alone, one might conclude that the Obama White House has experienced a metanoia and respects religious liberty.  But in the real world, actions speak louder than words. 

SCOTUS Sartorial Stylings at Inauguration

While there has been a buzz in the Lamestream Media as to the sartorial stylings of First Lady Michelle Obama at the 57th Presidential Inauguration, some astute observers had admired unusual haberdashery on the dais.

[Front L. Justice Sotomayor, R.  Justice Scalia; Back L. Justice Thomas, R. Justice Kagan] 

Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wore some distinctive head-wear to the public swearing in ceremony.  Scalia donned a hat which was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society from November 2010 that is a custom made replica based on the 1527 portrait of St. Thomas More by Hans Holbein.

What is more interesting than the fashionista question: "What are you wearing?" would be "Why are you wearing that hat?"  Was this just an opportune occasion to wear a stylish cap?  Or might the sartorial choice be subtle statement which echoes the inspiration for the Fortnight for Freedom?

[L.] . Justice Scalia at Inauguration [R] Detail of St. Thomas More portrait by Hans Holbein (1527)

Last summer, when the US Council of Catholic Bishops sought to educate the public about the encroachment of Obamacare into our foundational freedom of religion by the HHS Qualified Health Plan   (contraception) mandate.  The kick off mass celebrated St. Thomas More, a faithful Catholic who sacrificed his high position as Lord Chancellor (Prime Minister) as well as his own life when the secular sovereign demanded him to abandon his faith.

You be the judge.

h/t: First Things

Celebrating the Red Mass

[L] Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl and [R] Chief Justice John Roberts at 2012 Red Mass

On the day before the start of new Supreme Court term, six justices attended the Red Mass at St. Matthews Cathedral in Washington, DC.  The Archdiocese of Washington and the John Carroll Society have sponsored a Red Mass in Washington since 1953.  This year Chief Justice John Roberts along with Associate Justices Antonin Scalia,  Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan attended. The Mass was celebrated by Washington Archbishop Donald Cardinal Wuerl. However the homily was given by Archdiocese for the Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the prelate charged with shepherding the spiritual welfare for the 1.5 million Americans serving overseas in the military or government service. Archbishop Broglio’s homily included some scriptural exegesis to the readings at Mass and delved into some Catholic culture as he recognized Saints’ Day. But Broglio embraced the mantle of the New Evangelization and dared to echo themes from the Fortnight for Freedom of religious liberties, the latter may touch upon issues that the High Court will soon tackle. READ MORE at DCBarroco.com

Margaret Thatcher on Freedom

Frederick Douglass on Freedom

Billy Graham on Freedom

This is the classic view of Church/State relations.

Launching the Fortnight for Freedom

To educate people on the importance of preserving religious liberty and showing how the HHS mandate encroaches on every American's First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion, the USSB has launched the Fortnight for Freedom campaign.

But between the normalcy bias, Nuns on the Bus, the Soros funding Faith in Public Life and a secular culture which mistakenly thinks that the First Amendment protects the public from the free expression of religion rather than guaranteeing that right, there is a lot of education to be done in a short amount of time.

READ MORE at the DC Barroco website