{"id":2561,"date":"2012-03-28T19:38:31","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T02:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=2561"},"modified":"2017-02-10T08:30:46","modified_gmt":"2017-02-10T16:30:46","slug":"basic-religious-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/basic-religious-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Religious Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nT<\/span>his afternoon at Mass, the priest took the rather unusual step of preaching the Pope’s homily from his Mass in Cuba. <\/p>\n

He said that although it was intended as a call to arms for those suffering under the Cuban-Castro-Communist regime, it might just as well be a wake-up call to us here in the United States.<\/p>\n

Here’s the part he read:<\/p>\n

<\/span>In<\/span> today\u2019s first reading<\/em> [from Deuteronomy<\/a>], the three young men persecuted by the Babylonian king preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their conscience and their faith. They experienced the strength to \u201cgive thanks, glorify and praise God\u201d in the conviction that the Lord of the universe and of history would not abandon them to death and annihilation. Truly, God never abandons his children, he never forgets them. He is above us and is able to save us by his power. At the same time, he is near to his people, and through his Son Jesus Christ he has wished to make his dwelling place among us in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free\u201d (Jn 8:31). In this text from today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God the Father, the Saviour, the one who alone can show us the truth and give genuine freedom. His teaching provokes resistance and disquiet among his hearers, and he accuses them of seeking to kill him, alluding to the supreme sacrifice of the Cross, already imminent. Even so, he exhorts them to believe, to keep his word, so as to know the truth which redeems and dignifies.<\/p>\n

The truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom. Many, however, prefer shortcuts, trying to avoid this task. Some, like Pontius Pilate, ironically question the possibility of even knowing what truth is (cf. Jn 18:38), proclaiming that man is incapable of knowing it or denying that there exists a truth valid for all. This attitude, as in the case of skepticism and relativism, changes hearts, making them cold, wavering, distant from others and closed. They, like the Roman governor, wash their hands and let the water of history drain away without taking a stand.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close themselves up in \u201ctheir truth\u201d, and try to impose it on others. These are like the blind scribes who, upon seeing Jesus beaten and bloody, cry out furiously, \u201cCrucify him!\u201d (cf. Jn 19:6). Anyone who acts irrationally cannot become a disciple of Jesus. Faith and reason are necessary and complementary in the pursuit of truth. God created man with an innate vocation to the truth and he gave him reason for this purpose. Certainly, it is not irrationality but rather the yearning for truth which the Christian faith promotes. Each human being has to seek the truth and to choose it when he or she finds it, even at the risk of embracing sacrifices.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

The Church lives to make others sharers in the one thing she possesses, which is none other than Christ, our hope of glory (cf. Col 1:27). To carry out this duty, she must count on basic religious freedom, which consists in her being able to proclaim and to celebrate her faith also in public, bringing to others the message of love, reconciliation and peace which Jesus brought to the world. It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the Church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly. Nonetheless, this must continue forwards, and I wish to encourage the country\u2019s Government authorities to strengthen what has already been achieved and advance along this path of genuine service to the true good of Cuban society as a whole.<\/p>\n

The right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favourable conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

(Source<\/a>)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Go and read the whole thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This afternoon at Mass, the priest took the rather unusual step of preaching the Pope’s homily from his Mass in Cuba. He said that although it was intended as a call to arms for those suffering under the Cuban-Castro-Communist regime, it might just as well be a wake-up call to us here in the United States. Here’s the part he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-and-state","category-history","category-pope-benedict-xvi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-Fj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52588,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/papal-installation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":0},"title":"Papal Installation","author":"Thom","date":"18 March 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Vatican has published the programme for the Mass of Coronation Installation Inauguration, and boy howdy does it have a lot of chant in it! I also note that the Gospel will be read in Greek, rather than in Greek and Latin, as was the custom. Mass for the inauguration\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87241,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/corpus-christi-retrospective-part-1-ad-orientem\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":1},"title":"Corpus Christi Retrospective Part 1: Ad Orientem","author":"Thom","date":"02 June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This year my parish continued its tradition of celebrating our Corpus Christi Masses on the high altar. This obviously means that rather than facing the congregation through much of the Mass, the priest is facing the same direction they are: towards the altar, toward the tabernacle, towards the Lord. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cardinal Sarah"","block_context":{"text":"Cardinal Sarah","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/robert-cardinal-sarah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/closeup.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/closeup.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/closeup.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/closeup.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85280,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/consolations\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":2},"title":"Consolations of the Feast","author":"Thom","date":"08 June 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Several things crowd my mind this morning. Chiefly, I'm still processing the Corpus Christi Masses and procession we celebrated at our parish yesterday. But first, a slight digression. Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces On the calendar used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "community"","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/ad-orientem.png?fit=485%2C624&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52998,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/both-lungs\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":3},"title":"Both Lungs","author":"Thom","date":"20 March 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Blessed John Paul II famously said \"Europe has two lungs, it will never breathe easily until it uses both of them\" (Euntes in mundum, 1988). He was referring to the division between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, split in about the year 1054 over matters more relating to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Patriarch Bartholomew","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Patriarch-Bartholomew-240x326.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":100167,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/tradition-and-accommodation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":4},"title":"Tradition and Accommodation","author":"Thom","date":"29 September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Part 3 in an ongoing series of essays on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Testimony of an Unaltered Faith Introduction of the General Instruction is at great pains to place itself, and the Missal that it prefaces, in continuity with the tradition of the Roman Rite. Despite what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Instruction of the Roman Missal"","block_context":{"text":"General Instruction of the Roman Missal","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/sacred-liturgy\/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Council_of_Trent_1562.jpg?fit=1108%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Council_of_Trent_1562.jpg?fit=1108%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Council_of_Trent_1562.jpg?fit=1108%2C849&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Council_of_Trent_1562.jpg?fit=1108%2C849&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Council_of_Trent_1562.jpg?fit=1108%2C849&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1748,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/cecilia\/","url_meta":{"origin":2561,"position":5},"title":"Cecilia","author":"Thom","date":"22 November 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr. Cecilia is one of the most famous and most venerated of Roman martyrs, even though the facts of her martrydom are a little vague. Legend has it that she, her husband Valerian, and her brother-in-law Tiburtius were martyred\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chant"","block_context":{"text":"Chant","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/chant\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/St_Cecilias_Martyrdom-300x171.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2561"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88167,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions\/88167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}