Focus on Religious Freedom

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Publishes

Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the United States

On Jan. 16, which is National Religious Freedom Day, the bishops released what they titled The First Annual Report on the State of Liberty in the United States.  The report came from the Committee on Religious Liberty of the USCCB.  Bishop Rhoades of Fort Wayne, IN is the chairman of that committee.

The bishops report points out five areas of particular concern for 2024:

• Attacks on churches, mosques and temples
• Health and Human Services regulations which would likely force doctors to perform transgender surgeries and, perhaps, abortions
• Threats to religious charities serving newcomers
• Repression of religious speech regarding marriage and sexual differences

The report also points out the alarming vandalism and destruction at Catholic sites since the Dobbs decision and that the government has failed to find and bring to justice those committing these crimes.  The frequency and severity of these attacks causes concern about the personal safety of Catholics in their churches as well as the personal safety of Jews and Muslims in light of the extreme rhetoric around the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The report highlights the most severe political threat to religious liberty is the Equality Act which was considered by Congress in 2023.  The Equality Act threatens religious freedom, freedom of speech, the rights of parents to raise their children according to their beliefs, the personal safety and the equal treatment of women and other issues.

Read more of the USCCB report here as well as information on the Equality Act.

http://tinyurl.com/5dwccjn9  http://tinyurl.com/2s4cfs5m  http://tinyurl.com/5d6fvtjw  http://tinyurl.com/mr25crjf

Notre Dame Cathedral Reconstruction Report.
In 2023, significant progress has been made in reconstructing Notre Dame Cathedral.

Click here to read the report: https://www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/notre-dame-progress-update-2023/