Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Vatican II and Religious Liberty


The following comes from Bishop Etienne of the Diocese of Cheyenne:

Given the significance religious liberty plays in this election season, prophetic wisdom from Vatican II in this Year of Faith:
The Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom.  Freedom of this kind means that all men should be immune from coercion on the part of individuals, social groups and every human power so that, within due limits, nobody is forced to act against his convictions nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his convictions in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in associations with others.  The Council further declares that the right to religious freedom is based on the very dignity of the human person as known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself.  (John XXIII; Pacem in Terris)  This right of the human person to religious freedom must be given such recognition in the constitutional order of society as will make it a civil right.  (Declaration on Religious Liberty, #2)

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