Fortnight for Freedom observance begins Sunday

YOUNGSTOWN — The Fortnight for Freedom is 14 days of prayer, education and action for religious freedom in the United States and abroad, called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

The observance takes place from Sunday to July 4 with the theme, “Freedom to Bear Witness.”

In the church liturgical calendar, this two-week period includes celebrations of martyrs who remained faithful in the face of religious persecution by political power, including St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul and the First Martyrs of the Church in Rome.

Bishop George V. Murry will celebrate the 12:10 p.m. June 29 Mass for the Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul at St. Columba Cathedral, 154 W. Wood St.

For information, visit www.fortnight4freedom.org or www.doy.org or call the Diocese of Youngstown’s Office of Pro-Life, Marriage and Family Life at 330-744-8451 ext. 272.