Religious freedom is a basic human right, USCCB committee chairmen emphasize
October 30, 2024
» Continue to this story on USCCB
CWN Editor's Note: In a joint statement for International Religious Freedom Day, the chairmen of two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops emphasized that “the Catholic Church teaches that religious freedom is a basic human right, which has even been called the ‘synthesis and summit of all other fundamental rights.’”
“As Christians, we seek to build up the common good by fostering peace, tolerance, and respect for the dignity of others, but blasphemy and apostasy laws in many countries essentially criminalize what should be a person’s ability to choose one’s own religion,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan (chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace) and Bishop Kevin Rhoades (chairman of the Committee on Religious Liberty). “Other countries stifle religious freedom by forcing faith communities to support the state.”
“Pope Francis has repeatedly emphasized the importance of religious freedom as a basic, primary and inalienable right that must be promoted everywhere,” they added. “Here in the United States, the USCCB has not only echoed our Holy Father’s call, but made advocacy of religious freedom a high priority in public policy deliberations.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
