Bishop Paprocki acknowledged the courage of the five U.S. Supreme Court Justices who ruled in favor of the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties lawsuits opposing the mandate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requiring employers to offer insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs. Bishop Paprocki reminded participants of another recent Supreme Court decision that ruled unconstitutional so-called "bubble zones" that abortion providers imposed on those
who sought to pray outside of such facilities and to provide "street counsel" to women and families on their way inside such clinics to rethink their decision.
"It is very important from time to time to say thank you and give praise to God, especially when we have something to be thankful for and we certainly do have causes to give thanks for today," Bishop Paprocki said. He cautioned that the fight for religious liberty protection is not just a Catholic issue.
"It is an issue that concerns people of all faiths and all religious backgrounds who are concerned about their religious freedom. In fact the owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties are not Catholic."
The bishop explained the distinction between what the Supreme Court said in its June 30 ruling and what he referred to as the mainstream media stance that the whole controversy was a matter of contraception and birth control.
As non-Catholics, the bishop noted, Hobby Lobby doesn't share the church's belief about contraception. Its lawsuit against HHS objected to only four of 20 procedures mandated.
"In fact, plaintiffs in the Hobby Lobby case made clear their strong objection to some of the procedures that our government calls contraception is, in fact, chemical abortions. That's one of the very important implications of this case. If the government can compel people to pay for chemical abortions, it can also compel people to pay for surgical abortions. Thank goodness the Supreme Court did not buy that argument."
Prior to Bishop Paprocki's reflections, the prayer rally began with the singing of America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee), led by the St. Joseph the Worker Music Ensemble in Chatham, under the direction of John Kennedy.
In opening comments, Zach Wichmann, director of government relations of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, spoke of a society that has gone adrift from the bedrock principle of a free and just nation: the right to religious freedom.
"Thomas Jefferson said, 'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.' Your prayer and witness today are important. Your presence assures that the required vigilance has not waned," said Wichmann.
Karla Crews, Dr. Calvin Bell and Alma Frohock presented a series of timely quotes about the importance of religious freedom from a diverse array of religious leaders, statesmen and thinkers, including one attributed to Joseph Smith, a founder of the Mormon faith.
"I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; the same principle which would trample upon the Latter-Day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or an any other denomination, who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves."
After the singing of Battle Hymn of the Republic, Father David Hoefler, vicar general and moderator of the curia, read from St. John Paul II 1979 encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man).
"Nowadays it is sometimes held, though wrongly, that freedom is an end in itself, that each human being is free when he makes use of freedom as he wishes, and that this must be our aim in the lives of individuals and societies. In reality, freedom is a great gift only when we know how to use it consciously for everything that is our true good. Christ teaches us that the best use of freedom is charity, which takes concrete form in self-giving and in service. For this "freedom Christ has set us free" and ever continues to set us free. The Church draws from this source the unceasing inspiration, the call and the drive for her mission and her service among all mankind. The full truth about human freedom is indelibly inscribed on the mystery of the Redemption. The Church truly serves mankind when she guards this truth with untiring attention, fervent love and mature commitment and when in the whole of her own community she transmits it and gives it concrete form in human life through each Christian's fidelity to his vocation. This confirms what we have already referred to, namely that man is and always becomes the "way" for the Church's daily life."
Deacon David Erdmann, of the diocesan Office for Social Concerns and Respect for Life, led the intercessory prayer, and the crowd then recited the prayer for religious liberty. With a final blessing from Bishop Paprocki, the rally concluded with all singing God Bless America.
This year's Fortnight for Freedom was observed June 21 through Independence Day, July 4 and carried the theme "Freedom to Serve" with the focus on the freedom to serve the poor and vulnerable in accord with human dignity and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Bishop Paprocki created the idea of Fortnight for Freedom at the USCCB in November 2011 and resulted in the first Fortnight events nationwide in 2012.