Religious Liberty...

Religious Liberty is a means to an end, but not the end of itself. The end is the salvation of souls, and their reception into the Catholic Church. Religious Liberty can be a means to this end, but it is not necessary for the end.

For the USCCB to argue Religious Liberty as an end, has always been disturbing to me, and an argument that I never thought would hold water...of course with the NY Archdiocese funding contraception and abortions, the whole Fortnight for freedom is kind of pointless, since they are already doing things that Obamatax would make them do anyway....

Instead of Religious Liberty, I won't be praying for that. I'll be praying that the USCCB sees that the gov't will not be the solution to the problems of the day, and also that the USCCB learn to stop speaking on issues that are outside of their competence.

A gov't that refuses to recognize the values of life, will probably have everything else wrong as well. Without life, there is no reason to have so called free health care, (what good is healthcare when you're dead)...To trust THIS gov't with issues such as immigration and tax reform, would be absolutely ridiculous.

The authority that the Bishops' have seems to always be undermined (by their own doing) in various ways, but as you've probably noticed, this hasn't happened overnight, it's been creeping, incrementalism for the past several decades, and now is finally coming to power in its fullness...so thus time for me to give the USCCB some advice on what to REALLY do during these 2 weeks...(which oddly turns into good advice for us too):

a. Pray to the Holy Spirit for Prudence to know when to speak....speaking on every single statement that the gov't sends out is probably a bad idea. This gov't does not support life, what makes you think they're going to get every other issue right?...
b. Fast not for the gov't to do as they ought (their hearts are hardened), but to be faithful to Holy Mother Church and be willing to be a martyr for Her....
c. Do our best in our various situations to NOT rely on the gov't for things. If we are able to get off of gov't grants, assistance, and various other things, let us try to do so...We can't afford to be playing ball with the gov't with their rules, and their hostility towards our Faith and our lives in general.
d. Put an end to any situations that are undermining your authority to teach, govern, etc....(i.e. Ending support for Aboritons, contraception, etc)
e. Using the principle of subsidiarity to solve problems...and seeking solutions for the common good.
f. Did I fail to mention prayer and fasting....