Baltimore, Md., Jun 22, 2013 / 09:06 am
Opening the 2013 Fortnight for Freedom, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore emphasized the unique contribution that religion brings to society, warning that it must be protected and allowed to flourish.
"Faith enriches public life not only by the magnitude of its services but by the qualities of mind and heart, by the values and virtues, it brings to the task," said Archbishop Lori.
He warned that while religious organizations and individuals provide vital services for the common good, "our government is taking from what belongs to God by state-sponsored attempts to force the Church to compromise her own teachings as the price to be paid for serving the wider community."
Archbishop Lori, who chairs the U.S. Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, delivered the homily at a June 21 Mass at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the nation's oldest Cathedral, in downtown Baltimore, Md.