As we approach the 242nd birthday of the United States, I give thanks to God for the incredible graces he has bestowed on us as a people. Our first freedom — our religious liberty — is a particularly cherished blessing and one that in recent times has met many challenges.  

Over the last several years, we have witnessed actions throughout the country that no longer respect the religious freedom of our people or the faith-based principles on which our nation was founded:

•  the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage;
•  the proliferation of pornography and human trafficking;
• the scourge of an ideology that blurs the lines of what it means to be a man or a woman;
•  the further acceptance of assisted suicide;
• the continued decline of the family, as approximately half the births in the U.S. are to single-parent families; and
•  a 25% national increase in suicides, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control.

Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 4 decision on the Masterpiece Cake case reaffirmed the right to free exercise of religion. This is a win for all people of faith, who the court affirms may act on their deeply held religious beliefs in the public square.     

As we gather to celebrate our independence as a country, let us give thanks and pray for our nation, entrusting it to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Americas.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, the chairman-elect of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, ably stated at this year’s National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, “We are called to renew our nation. ... It is our task to reclaim our culture, one mind, one heart, one soul at a time.” Through prayer and action, let’s commit ourselves to that task.