COMMENTARY: The US bishops’ consecration to the Sacred Heart and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence adds unmistakable significance.
Religious Freedom Week, the annual initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, calls on Catholics to pray, reflect and act in defense of our first freedom. Beginning June 22, the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, the USCCB invites Catholics to promote religious freedom through daily intentions spanning political violence at home, the plight of immigrants seeking the sacraments, persecution in Africa and Nicaragua, gender ideology, religious discrimination in public programs, and parental choice in education.
This year, Religious Freedom Week takes on added significance: On June 11, as part of the 250th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Eleven days separate the consecration from the week that follows — close enough that the two cannot reasonably be considered unrelated.
Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, reflects that as we give thanks for the blessings God has bestowed on our country, our devotion to
