Via Kathryn Jean Lopez ... A Fortnight for Freedom began Thursday night -- two weeks of prayer and education for the preservation of religious freedom, designated by the Catholic bishops of the United States. But it's just not bishops who are Fortnighting. Lay Catholics are, perhaps, the most important voices involved, particularly in the political realm. Maureen Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Catholic Association, which is playing a pivotal role on the political-education front, is among the women defending freedom in the face of a mainstream narrative that has the Obama administration saving her from reproductive oppression.

Watch the TCA commercial here:

According to Maureen Ferguson, the TCA is a group of Catholics who seek to answer the bishops' call for the laity to come forward and defend their right to practice their faith.

TCA has a 14-day to-do list for those who want to actively engage in defense of religious liberty, and today encourages Catholics to call their Congressmen asking for conscience protection. As Ms. Lopez' piece points out, this Fortnight for Freedom is much more than a GOP mobilization, led by bishops "taking a bludgeon to a proper distance between God and Caesar." Contrary to the story line the White House has been writing, the reality is the opposite. The Obama administration is imposing its morality -- and political agenda -- on the Church. The Fortnight is an effort to insist that Caesar shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. That's a bipartisan, ecumenical campaign -- to preserve and protect the Constitution.

Be sure to read the transcript of Kathryn Jean Lopez's interview with Maureen Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Catholic Association ... here (scroll down below video).

Here's a sample of the what's in the interview:

Ferguson: Simply put, the mandate must be rescinded, entirely. The attempt at an "accommodation" has proven to be unworkable, as even Sister Carol Keehan, CEO of the Catholic Health Association and a supporter of the president's health-care bill, has made clear. The truth is that our nation has a long-standing tradition of including broad conscience protections in federal health-care law. The conscience protections we're asking for are nearly identical to those included in President Clinton's health-care bill -- � the same language that was supported by Senator Ted Kennedy and even then-senator Joe Biden. That's not asking too much. It's why one of the Catholic Association's action items is to encourage people to call their congressmen today and ask for conscience protection. It's a bipartisan, ecumenical ask.