According to CNA/EWTN News, Bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, addressed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishoips (USCCB) during their fall general assembly in Baltimore on Monday and issued a dire warning about the state of religious freedom in America.
He said the bishops have watched with growing alarm as new laws, regulations and court decisions have begun to treat religion “not as a contributor to our nation’s common morality” but “as a divisive and disruptive force better kept out of public life.”
Current events bear out his warnings. In Illinois, the state has ceased working with Catholic Charities on adoptions and foster-care placements after 40 years because the agency refused to recognize a new civil union law that would force them to allow same-sex couples to adopt children.
In New York, the so-called "religious exemption" to the new gay marriage law is so narrow as to be almost ineffective in protecting the rights of faithful New Yorkers to practice their religion.
On the federal level, the Church has been fighting a new mandate put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring free birth control coverage in all insurance plans that also comes with an unworkable religious exemption.
"We should not be obliged to provide services or other initiatives that are contrary to our conscience," Bishop Lori said. "We don't need the government forcing our hand."
He went on to point out that basic human freedoms are “inherent to human dignity” and not granted by the government, to be taken away at will. Americans “rightfully look to our government to fulfill its duty to protect religious liberty,” he added.
The U.S. Bill of Rights lists freedom of religion first, he reminded, and said those who seek to stifle religious liberty are ignoring the important role of churches in areas such as education, healthcare and social services, as well as in working to improve society by promoting civil rights and opposing child labor, etc.
Religious rights belong to both individuals and to churches and religious institutions, he said, and include not only the right to worship, but also the right to bring religious values into the public square.
Religion is a personal matter, but not a private matter, he added.
Bishop Lori went on to say that threats to the Church's freedom also come from a false understanding of what religious liberty means and said the Establishment Clause in the U.S. Constitution has been expanded to the point where it no longer fulfills its original purpose.
“The Establishment Clause was meant to protect the Free Exercise Clause, not the other way around,” he said.
He went on to call upon bishops to take action in their dioceses by speaking up against injustices and encouraging priests, religious and laity to cooperate in the fight to defend religious freedom.
He also pledged that the new ad hoc Committee for Religious Liberty would work on behalf of all the bishops to promote religious freedom. By working together, Catholics can strive to create “a new appreciation for religious liberty and a renewed determination to defend it,” he said.
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