Catholics Protest Launch of the Bishops' "Fortnight for Freedom" Campaign

[UrbScotty]

Catholics for Equality, the country's largest national political organization of pro-LGBT equality Catholics, joined hands tonight with several fair-minded and faithful Catholic social justice groups in organizing a peaceful protest outside the kickoff Mass for the bishops' "Fortnight for Freedom" election year political campaign. The Catholic groups came together with prayers and hymns under one giant united banner which read, Bishops: We Need Pastors, Not Politicians, Your Antics are Hurting the Church.

...

"The bishops no longer represent Catholics in the pews on so many social issues, from contraception to legal equality for LGBT people," said Joseph Palacios, Director of the Catholics for Equality Foundation. "We also reject the bishops' election year campaign that they are now somehow victims of religious liberty."

According to a new report released today by the Public Religion Research Institute, 57% of American Catholics do not believe that the right to religious liberty is being threatened in America today. The report also notes that 65% of Catholics believe that most employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception at no cost and that 63% believe religiously affiliated agencies should not be able to refuse to place children with qualified gay and lesbian couples.

"The bishops' "Fortnight for Freedom" 2012 campaign is nothing more than election year political posturing," said Phil Attey, Executive Director of Catholics for Equality. "For the past 10 years the bishops' have earned the public branding of abusers, oppressors, and political bullies. Catholics in the pews don't listen to them anymore and nor do political leaders ... including Catholic political leaders. In order to change this political reality, the bishops need to change their branding from bully to victim. But nobody's buying it and they're only bringing more embarrassment to our church."

http://catholicsforequality.org/news_release/catholics-protest-launch-bishops-fortnight-freedom-campaign

[demosincebirth]

1. Change needs to come.

[Kath1]

2. I'm glad they're protesting!

The "fortnight" sermon I heard at mass yesterday made me so furious that I got up and walked out. I'm Catholic, but I don't check my brain at the church door. Catholic women have been ignoring the bishops on contraception for 40 years and will continue to do so. There are also a lot of us who believe abortion should remain safe and legal.

[47of74]

3. I haven't been in a Catholic Church since early February

From time to time over the past several years I had seriously questioned whether I wanted to remain in the Catholic church or not. And decided to remain because the parish I was a part of was good. If it hadn't been for them I would have left many years ago. And up to about five months ago I had no serious plans on leaving the church.

But then I fell away in February - I had work and travel commitments that kept me from going to Mass. That's about when all this horse hockey about birth control started and I just decided not to go any more. Then this fortnight stuff started and there was a letter to the editor from a local conservative Catholic and that was it for me. I contacted the parish I was a member of and told them that I had to discontinue my membership. I didn't go in to reasons why, just that I was leaving. I feel better having left. I don't have to hide my feelings anymore and can be more open than what I had been.