Religion & Law

I recommend that all MOJ-ers take a few minutes to read Bishop William Lori's (Bridgeport) new pastoral letter, "Let Freedom Ring:  A Pastoral Letter on Religious Freedom."  I had the pleasure and privilege of spending some time with Bishop Lori last week, in connection with the Red Mass in his Diocese, and to talk with him about religious-freedom and constitutional-law questions.  Connecticut is (as the letter describes) something like "ground zero" when it comes to the Freedom of the Church.  I hope, though, that this letter will have a positive, educative effect.  A taste:

The Second Vatican Council?s Declaration on Religious Liberty, issued on December 7, 1965, affirmed one?s right to worship in accord with one?s conscience and also implied the advisability of separating Church and State, that is to say, that advisability of distinguishing between the political power of the State and the religious authority of the Church, and protecting the latter from the former. This Declaration went on to teach that "the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person," not "in the subjective disposition of the person but in his very nature" (Dignitas Humanae, no. 2). Nothing in the Vatican II Declaration endorses the notion that society should be free from religion or that religion should be marginalized as something irrational or dangerous. On the contrary, the Declaration on Religious Liberty affirms the natural right of individuals to be free from State coercion with regard to privately held religious convictions as well as the natural right to express those beliefs publicly. This public expression of faith takes the form of worship but includes more than worship: it includes education, and various forms of community service. Here we think of our parishes, our Catholic schools, after-school programs, religious education programs, as well as the array of services offered by Catholic Charities and Catholic hospitals. But we should also lay claim to our natural right to bring our religious convictions into the public square, to engage the culture in which we live, and to participate in debates and discussions which help to shape our character as a civic society. As George Washington said of religion, "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these pillars of human happiness."