Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco (AP Photo)
In a statement featuring newly installed Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone--who leads the San Francisco Archdiocese where House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi lives--the U.S. Catholic bishops announced on Thursday that they are calling on Catholics to pray the rosary every day and to fast and to abstain from eating meat on Fridays as part of a pastoral campaign aimed at preserving religious liberty, the right to life and the institution of marriage in the United States of America.
The well-being of society requires that life, marriage, and religious liberty are promoted and protected, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said on a special webpage produced for the campaign. Serious threats to each of these goods, however, have raised unprecedented challenges to the Church and to the nation.
"With the challenges this country is facing, it is hoped that this call to prayer and penance will help build awareness among the faithful as well as spiritual stamina and courage for effective witness, said a statement by Archbishop Cordileone, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. We also hope that it will encourage solidarity with all people who are standing for the precious gifts of life, marriage, and religious liberty,"
Pelosi