Fortnight For Freedom Is Back

Today at Mass, we recited this prayer:

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

 What, might you ask, is this decisive hour in the history of our nation?  It would be the Obama Administration's plan to have free birth control available to workers through their employer's health insurance.  That is a decisive hour in the history of our nation?  Not, say, the Civil War?  Would the bishops be raising the same fuss if the government decided to pay for the birth control separately from employer-provided insurance?  Probably, but their case would be more underwhelming than it already is.  As it is, Religious Freedom sounds a Hell of a lot better than "we don't believe in birth control."  Overhyped?  I think so.  Better marketing?  Yes.  Frank Luntz would be proud (or he might be actively involved).