“Religious Freedom Week 2019: Strength in Hope,” sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will take place June 22-29 to promote the importance of preserving the essential right of religious freedom, for now and the future, for Catholics and for those of all faiths.
The week begins with the Feast of Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More, ends with the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and includes the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
The chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., encourages Catholics to pray and act in support of religious liberty at home and abroad during the week.
The theme for this year, “Strength in Hope,” is taken from the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: “Among the trials of this life they find strength in hope, convinced that ‘the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us’ (Rom 8:18)” (“Apostolicam actuositatem,” 4).
Daily prayer and reflection resources for each day of Religious Freedom Week are available (in English and Spanish) at www.usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek, and a short video on the theme of religious freedom may be viewed at www.usccb.org/freedom.
— Joseph Purello