Fortnight for Freedom-Day 14

Reflection for Day Fourteen

In concluding its Declaration of Religious Freedom, the Council rejoices in the fact that religious freedom has been enshrined in the constitutions of many countries as well as in international statements. However, the Council Fathers are well aware that religious freedom is not guaranteed merely when it is stated on a piece of paper. It must be exercised by a living body of people. Moreover, there are actual governments that act against religious communities, sometime in the name of religion. The Council Fathers find such situations appalling and ask that Catholics and all people of goodwill work to rectify this injustice.

Since the Vatican Council, has religious freedom improved or deteriorated throughout the world?

What is the relationship between growing religious diversity, as well as growing interactions among people of different faiths, and religious liberty?


These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Declaration on Religious Freedom-no. 15

The fact is that men of the present day want to be able freely to profess their religion in private and in public. Religious freedom has already been declared to be a civil right in most constitutions, and it is solemnly recognized in international documents. The further fact is that forms of government still exist under which, even though freedom of religious worship receives constitutional recognition, the powers of government are engaged in the effort to deter citizens from the profession of religion and to make life difficult and dangerous for religious Communities.

This sacred Synod greets with joy the first of these two facts, as among the signs of the times. With sorrow, however, it denounces the other fact, as only to be deplored. The Synod exhorts Catholics, and it directs a plea to all men, most carefully to consider how greatly necessary religious freedom is, especially in the present condition of the human family.

All nations are coming into even closer unity. Men of different cultures and religions are being brought together in closer relationships. There is a growing consciousness of the personal responsibility that weighs upon every man. All this is evident.

Consequently, in order that relationships of peace and harmony may be established and maintained within the whole of mankind, it is necessary that religious freedom be everywhere provided with an effective constitutional guarantee, and that respect be shown for the high duty and right of man freely to lead his religious life in society.

Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 15 December 7, 1965

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Fortnight for Freedom-Day 13

Reflection for Day Thirteen

While insisting upon the religious freedom of the Church, the Council Fathers do not wish to give the impression that in some manner the Catholic Church is special when it comes to religious liberty. Thus, the
Council first states above that where the principle of religious liberty is present, the Church is able to
peaceably fulfill her divine mission. It is this amicable relationship between herself and civil authorities that
the Church always wishes to pursue and ensure.

In the light of this, the Church also champions the religious and civil rights of all so that all people can live “their lives in accordance with their conscience.” In this way there is no conflict with what the Church demands for herself and what she demands for others—the freedom to follow one’s conscience in matters religious. This religious freedom for all is what the Council once more believes should be acknowledged and sanctioned within the constitutional law of countries.
In the United States, religious freedom is protected in the Constitution, as the Council desires.

Are those constitutional protections enough?

Are they growing stronger or weaker in our society today?

What else, apart from the law, can strengthen or weaken religious liberty?

What should Catholics do to defend and foster religious liberty in America today?

What have Catholics done in the past when religious liberty was threatened?


These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Declaration of Religious Freedom-no. 13a

In turn, where the principle of religious freedom  is not only proclaimed in words or simply incorporated in law but also given sincere and practical application, there the Church succeeds in achieving a stable situation of right as well as of fact and the independence which is necessary for the fulfillment of her divine mission. This independence is precisely what the authorities of the Church claim in society. At the same time, the Christian faithful, in common with all other men, possess the civil right not to be hindered in leading their lives in accordance with their conscience. Therefore, a harmony exists between the freedom of the Church and the religious freedom which is to be recognized as the right of all men and communities and sanctioned by constitutional law.

Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 13 December 7, 1965

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Fortnight for Freedom-Day 12

Reflection for Day Twelve

In Chapter I, the Council Fathers considered the nature of religious freedom from a rational and philosophical perspective—the dignity and equality of human beings and the natural right to religious liberty.
In Chapter II, they turn to examining religious liberty in the light of Christian Revelation. In this context, the Council Fathers forthrightly insist that the Church must “enjoy that full measure of freedom which her care for salvation of men requires.” Jesus became man, died, and rose from the dead so that all men and women would come to salvation— to know the fullness of truth and the fullness of the Father’s love. This is why the Church’s religious freedom is “sacred.” Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, founded the Church as the means by which his saving message and presence would go forth to all the world. Only then would Jesus’ Gospel be lived out among all nations and peoples. Only if the Church is free can she rightly fulfill her divine commission. This is why the Church jealously guards her freedom while simultaneously fostering harmonious, appropriate, and just relations with various governments throughout the world.

What present circumstances threaten the freedom of the Catholic Church particularly?

Are threats to the Church’s freedom always from without, or do threats arise from within the Church itself?

What threats in the past has the Church in our country had to contend with?


These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Declaration on Religious Freedom-no. 13

Among the things which concern the good of the Church and indeed the welfare of society here on earth—things therefore which are always and everywhere to be kept secure and defended against all injury—this certainly is preeminent, namely, that the Church should enjoy that full measure of freedom which her care for salvation of men requires. This freedom is sacred, because the only-begotten Son endowed with it the Church which He purchased with His blood. It is so much the property of the Church that to act against it is to act against the will of God. The freedom of the Church is the fundamental principle in what concerns the relations between the Church and governments and the whole civil order.

Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 13 December 7, 1965

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Fortnight for Freedom-Day 11

Reflection for Day Eleven

The Council Fathers are well aware that, while various  religious groups are meant to live in harmony, each accepting the equal rights of others, yet, in reality, conflicts frequently arise between various religions. This may be due to what a specific religion holds concerning the nature of its own beliefs in relation to the beliefs of other religions. While each religious group has the right to profess that its religious beliefs are true and that other religious beliefs are either inadequate or contain erroneous tenets, no religious group has the right to persecute or seek to suppress other religious groups. Similar conflict may arise within a religion, in which case, the cause of the conflict does not reside in the religious belief as such, but in a misinterpretation of those beliefs that prompts misguided attacks on other religious groups.

Given the reality of such religious conflicts, the Council Fathers acknowledge that the government is responsible for keeping public order, not by taking sides, but by enacting just laws and guarding the equal rights of all.

What causes religious conflicts today?

Do governments always adequately respond to such conflicts?

What distinguishes “public order” (which limits religious freedom) from an ordinary policy preference
of government (which does not)?

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Declaration on Religious Freedom-no. 7

Furthermore, society has the right to defend itself against possible abuses committed on pretext of freedom of religion. It is the special duty of government to provide this protection. However, government is not to act in arbitrary fashion or in an unfair spirit of partisanship. Its action is to be controlled by juridical norms which are in conformity with the objective moral order. These norms arise out of the need for effective safeguard
of the rights of all citizens and for peaceful settlement of conflicts of rights. They flow from the need for an adequate care of genuine public peace, which comes about when men live together in good order and in true justice. They come, finally, out of the need for a proper guardianship of public morality. These matters constitute the basic component of the common welfare: they are what is meant by public order. For the rest, the usages of society are to be the usages of freedom in their full range. These require that the freedom of man be respected as far as possible, and curtailed only when and in so far as necessary.

Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 7 December 7, 1965

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Fortnight for Freedom-Day 10

Reflection for Day Ten

Because all human beings possess equal dignity, value, and worth, the government is to ensure that this equality is maintained both for the good of the individual and for the good of society as a whole. This equality specifically should not be violated on religious grounds. Each religious body and the members of that body have equal rights to religious liberty. This equality demands that there be no discrimination based upon one’s religious beliefs. The Council Fathers now stress that, based upon this equality among its citizens, no government is permitted to impose in any way “the profession or repudiation of any religion.” Such an imposition is a violation of the right to be true to one’s conscience. Because of the freedom of conscience, the government is also not permitted to deny a person the right to join or leave a religious body. The government has no right to stipulate what a person can or cannot believe.
 
If the above is true, then the Council states that it is all the more wrong when “force is brought to bear in any way in order to destroy or repress religion.” This not only applies to governments but also to religious bodies themselves. No religious body is permitted to harass or seek to eliminate another religious group.
 
Within our contemporary world, where is religious equality denied or religious discrimination tolerated?
 
Are there instances where one religion violates the rights of other religions?

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.

Declaration on Religious Freedom-no. 6a

Finally, government is to see to it that the equality of citizens before the law, which is itself an element of the common welfare, is never violated for religious reasons whether openly or covertly. Nor is there to be discrimination among citizens. It follows that a wrong is done when government imposes upon its people, by force or fear or other means, the profession or repudiation of any religion, or when it hinders men from joining or leaving a religious body. All the more is it a violation of the will of God and of the sacred rights of the person and the family of nations, when force is brought to bear in any way in order to destroy or repress religion, either in the whole of mankind or in a particular country or in a specific community.

Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae), no. 6 December 7, 1965

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended
for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness
in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.