Having just celebrated the 4th of July, I think it would be appropriate to share a struggle for freedom of faith right here in the USA.  Deacon Robert F. Gorman delivered the following comments at the Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in New Braunfels, TX just before July 4th.  It is entitled Homily on Religious Liberty.  Here is part of what he said:

"Today the Catholic Church remains the largest single provider of education, health, and charitable assistance in the world.  It is our right and our duty to seek social justice in charitable action.  This is who we are, and Christ himself commanded it.

But our Congress passed a Health Care law two years ago that threatens to deprive the Church of its ability to practice the corporal works of mercy and our current Administration has issued executive orders through the Department of Health and Human Services that intrude on the free exercise of religion.  They declared that churches must provide free coverage to their exployees for artificial contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs.  After the loud protest by Catholic Bishops, the Administration announced an accommodation that exempted churches and houses of worship from such requirements.  But this still required that Catholic schools, hospitals, and social agencies employing or serving persons other than Catholics, which nearly all of them do, must violate the teaching of the Church by subsidizing morally offensive activity that advances the culture of death and violates the right to life. The Bishops rejected the accommodation as deceptive and unacceptable.

The government is attempting to redefine religious freedom as limited to worship inside churches.  It thus seeks to limit the free exercise and practice of religion in the public square.  We are witnessing before our very eyes a government that seeeks to usurp our rights, to limit religion merely to worship, and to place our charitable work under morally offensive regulation.  Our bishops across the nation have clearly stated that the church cannot and will not accept this unjust law, and they have asked us as Catholics to stand up for our religious rights.. Forty-three Catholic institutions have joined to sue the federal government for violation of religious rights under free exercise of religion clause of the First Amendment."

I understand that Deacon Gorman is a faculty member of a state university in Texas.  We commend his efforts and the stance that so many people of faith are taking to oppose the government's attack on freedom of faith.