Rally to shine light on ‘challenges to religious liberty’

A “Fortnight for Religious Freedom” rally and march will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the state Capitol as part of a two-week national campaign initiated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Saint Damien Advocates, a religious nonprofit group formed in 2011 by Hono­lulu mental health counselor Jon P. Roco, is organizing the event to focus prayer and bring attention to recent “challenges to religious liberty,” Roco said.

The Catholic bishops initiated the campaign June 21, recommending 14 ways Catholic parishes and lay individuals can celebrate or organize support for various rights of citizenship, such as hosting a panel discussion on important public policy issues or inviting a local or national figure to speak about religious liberty.

Roco said in a news release that Catholics are particularly concerned about the Aug. 1 deadline for compliance with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate, which he said “forces all employers, even religious institutions such as Roman Catholic hospitals and universities, to offer contraceptives, sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, contrary to their religious beliefs and doctrines.”

(According to HHS, churches and other houses of worship may claim religious exemptions; an addendum to the law allows religion-affiliated employers such as some universities to have their insurance companies pay for contraceptive services to help preserve religious liberty.)

Other political issues of concern to Catholics include same-sex marriage and immigration reform, he said.

For information on these issues, visit www.fortnight4freedom.org. Contact Roco at johnproco@saintdamienadvocates.org or call 721-9845.johnproco@saintdamienadvocates.org