Sunday “is the identity of the Christian community and the center of his life and mission”, that “we cannot live without joining together on Sunday”, that only those Christians “who lived in accordance with Sunday” have “attained new hope”, and that “the Christians of today will rediscover the crucial importance of the Sunday Celebration”. (Pastoral Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Bari for the Closing of the 24th Italian National Eucharistic Congress, Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, Esplanade of Marisabella, Sunday, May 29, 2005.)
Saturday is “no longer” the worship day of God, only on Sunday can we become part of the body of Christ in the world, only by worshiping on Sunday can we avoid “egoistic isolation” and instead be united “in a great community…a universal community” becoming “related to everyone in the world.” (Meeting with Diocesan Clergy of Aosta, Address of Pope Benedict XVI, Parish Church at Introd (Aosta Valley), Monday, July 25, 2005.)
Every Sunday is to be dedicated and given to God. (Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, given in Parish Church of Castel Gandolfo, Monday, August 15, 2005.)
“Social disorder, war, injustice and violence” can only be countered “ by renewed appreciation and respect for the universal moral law [Sunday observance], that only by recognizing that law can the world have “dignity, life and freedom” with “conditions of justice and peace” in all the communities of the world, and that the promotion and defense of this law is what “must govern relations between nations and peoples in the pursuit of the common good of the human family...within the international community.” (Address of Pope Benedict XVI to H.E. Mr Francis Rooney, New Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See, Saturday, November 12, 2005.)
Sunday is a day of rest for all workers. (Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Italian Christian Workers’ Associations (A.C.L.I.), Clementine Hall, Friday, January 27, 2006.)
People cannot be sanctified except on Sunday, that Christ transferred Sabbath sacredness to Sunday, that only those who keep Sunday belong to Christ, that only on Sunday does “the risen Lord makes himself present among his followers”, that only these “worship God properly”, and that may Sunday “regain all its importance.” (Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Card. Francis Arinze on the Occasion of the Study Day in Honour of the 43rd Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, From the Vatican, November 27, 2006.)
Sunday is an “obligation for all the faithful” which brings “authentic freedom enabling them to live each day”, that it is the Lord’s day, that it is “a day to be sanctified”, and those who do not keep it suffer “the loss of an authentic sense of Christian freedom” and the loss of being “the children of God”, that Sunday is the “primordial holy day” and “is meant to be kept holy”, “a day of rest from work”, which hopefully “will also be recognized by civil society” by law. (Sacramentum Caritatis: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission, Given by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, February 22, 2007, the Feast of the Chair of Peter.)
“It is necessary” “to hold Sunday in special high regard” in order “to remain united to Christ”, as “it is the day dedicated to the Lord.” (Message of Pope Benedict XVI to the Participants in the 9th International Youth Forum (Rocca di Papa, 28-31 March 2007), from the Vatican, March 28, 2007.)
Only on Sunday can we experience “a personal encounter with Christ.” (Apostolic Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to Brazil on the Occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Carribbean, Inaugural Session, Address of Pope Benedict XVI, Conference Hall, Shrine of Aparecida, Sunday, May 13, 2007.)
“Without the Lord’s day, we cannot live”, that meeting with the Lord only occurs on the “specific day” of Sunday, that life does not flourish without Sunday, and that Sunday is a day of rest, of freedom and equality for all the world. (Eucharistic Celebration Homily of Pope Benedict XVI , Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Sunday, September 9, 2007.)
Encouraged America to exercise “its leadership within the international community” based on “the common moral law [Sunday holiness].” (Address of Pope Benedict XVI to H.E. Mrs. Mary Ann Glendon, New Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See, Friday, February 29, 2008.)
The world has greater need of hope for peace, justice and freedom, which “can never be delivered without obedience to the law of God [Sunday holiness]”. (Video-Message of the Pope Benedict XVI to Catholics and People of the United States of America on the Occasion of the Upcoming Apostolic Journey, April 15-21, 2008.)
The RCC “makes its contribution (in the ethical and moral sphere) according to the dispositions of international law, helps to define that law, and makes appeal to it”, that we live in a time when little groups of independent people threaten the unity of the world, and that the only way to combat this problem is by establishing law and then ordering all of society according to this law, thus promoting “peace and good will throughout the earth.” (Apostolic Journey to the United States of America and Visit to the United Nations Organization Headquarters, Meeting with the Members of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, Address of Pope Benedict XVI, New York, Friday, April 18, 2008.)
“In respecting religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians [in the USA and elsewhere] should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church’s holy days as legal holidays.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, popular and definitive edition, 2000, par. 2188
“This organization proposes in every possible way to aid in preserving Sunday as a civil institution. Our national security requires the active support of all good citizens in the maintenance of our American Sabbath. Sunday laws must be enforced.” -Quoted as “principles contained in the Constitution” of the original orginization (then called the American Sabbath Union), cited in The Lord’s Day Alliance, Twenty fifth Report (1913), p6.
In the fourth and fifth centuries, Sunday shows and Sunday theaters, it was complained, hindered the “devotion of the faithful,” because many of the members attended them in preference to the church services. The church, therefore, demanded that the state interfere, and promote Sunday observance by law. “In this way, ” Says Neander “the church received help from the state for the furtherence of her ends.” This union of church and state served to establish the Papacy in power. A simular course pursued now will produce the same results. -AUGUSTUS NEANDER, General History of the Christian Religion and the Church, Torey translation (3rd American ed.), vol. 2, pp. 300,301
On September 7, 1947, Pope Pius XII declared that “the time for reflection and planning is past in religious and moral fields and the time for action has arrived.” He said that “the battle in religious and moral fields hinged on five points: Religious culture, the sanctifying of Sunday, the saving of the Christian family, social justice and loyalty and truthfulness in dealings.” -Evening Star (Washington D.C.), Sept. 8, 1947.
Have Sunday laws happened in the past? And WHAT became of those that broke them?
“Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath (Sunday), and in the afternoon to divine service, and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipped; and for the third to suffer death.”!!! Laws, and Orders, Divine, Politique, & Martial For the Colony in Virginia: first established by Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, Lieutenant – General, the 24th of May, 1610
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