Fortnight for Freedom Grassroots Action Plan

June 21 - July 4

Catholics have been asked by our bishops to take action in defense of our religious liberty in the two weeks leading up to the 4th of July -- a "Fortnight for Freedom."  

This is necessary because the Obama Administration has engaged in a stunning attack on our right to practice our faith, most notably by mandating that virtually all employers, including religious employers like Catholic charities, schools, and hospitals, provide free abortion inducing-drugs, contraception, and sterilization in their health plans.

You can help by committing yourself to the following daily action items over the 14 days of the Fortnight -- each taking only two minutes or less.

TAKE ACTION

Please start now by sharing this 14-point action plan with 14 of your friends and asking them to join you in standing up for religious freedom!

1. Share The Catholic Association's one-minute video with 14 of your friends through email, Twitter, or Facebook.
2. Call your Member of Congress to ask them to support efforts to protect religious liberty and to oppose the HHS mandate.   Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and give the operator your zip code to be connected to your Representative's office.   Tell the staff person you speak with that you would like a response from your Representative and make sure they take down your address.
3. "Like" The Catholic Association on Facebook and ask 14 friends to do the same. 
4. The HHS mandate affects not just Catholics, but people of all faiths.  Many Christian colleges and non-religious employers have also sued the Obama Administration because of this affront to the First Amendment.  Watch this short video and forward it to 14 of your non-Catholic friends.
5. Say the following prayer for religious liberty that the bishops have asked us to pray -- and share the prayer with 14 friends:
   
   
           Almighty God, Father of all nations,
           For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
           We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
           the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
           Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
           By your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
           We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
           and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
           with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
    
6. Follow The Catholic Association on Twitter at @CatholicsAsOne.
7. Donate $14 to your favorite Catholic institution (whether a charity, school, hospital) threatened by the HHS mandate "fine on faith."  See here for a list of just some of the institutions suing the Obama Administration. Catholic institutions such as these are facing fines of $100 per employee per day.
8. Let 14 friends know how your favorite Catholic institution is threatened by the mandate.  The HHS mandate's "fine on faith" is $100 per employee per day.  Employers like the Archdiocese of Washington, DC or the University of Notre Dame will face fines of millions of dollars per year for noncompliance. Watch this video from the Archdiocese of Washington to learn more. 
9. Make plans to go see the movie "For Greater Glory," a movie about the loss of religious freedom in the 1920's in Mexico.  Invite 14 friends to come along.
10. Sign a petition protesting the HHS Mandate: "Women Speak for Themselves", the Becket Fund's "I Still Believe", and "Conscience Cause" all have great petitions. 
11. Pray a decade of the rosary for religious freedom.
12. Let 14 friends know about these other threats to religious freedom that our bishops have outlined in their recent document, "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty."
13. Offer up one sacrifice today for the intention of religious freedom.  The bishops have called for both prayer and fasting.
14. Send out a tweet or a Facebook post at noon EST on the 4th of July with the words, "I Stand for Religious Freedom #Fortnight4Freedom" in synch with the nationwide coordinated ringing of church bells on the 4th of July.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS 14-POINT ACTION PLAN (PDF)