CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has told the University of Notre Dame that there is a concrete \u201cmenace\u201d to religious liberty in the U.S. that is advancing in part because some influential Catholic public figures and university professors are allied with those opposed to Church teaching.<\/p>\n\t\u201cEvidence is emerging which demonstrates that the threat to religious freedom is not solely a concern for non-democratic and totalitarian regimes,\u201d he said. \u201cUnfortunately it is surfacing with greater regularity in what many consider the great democracies of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe apostolic nuncio, who serves as the Pope\u2019s diplomatic representative to the U.S., said this is a \u201ctragedy\u201d for both the believer and for democratic society.<\/p>\n
\tArchbishop Vigano\u2019s Nov. 4 speech keynoted the University of Notre Dame\u2019s Institute for Church Life conference. He discussed martyrdom, persecution, and religious freedom, with a particular focus on the United States.<\/p>\n
\tHe cited Catholics\u2019 duties to be disciples of Christ, not elements of a political or secular ideology. He lamented the fact that many Catholics are publicly supporting \u201ca major political party\u201d that has \u201cintrinsic evils among its basic principles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThere is a divisive strategy at work here, an intentional dividing of the Church; through this strategy, the body of the Church is weakened, and thus the Church can be more easily persecuted,\u201d the nuncio said.<\/p>\n
\tArchbishop Vigano observed that some influential Catholic public officials and university professors are allied with forces opposed to the Church\u2019s fundamental moral teachings on \u201ccritical issues\u201d like abortion, population control, the redefinition of marriage, embryonic stem cell research and \u201cproblematic adoptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe said it is a \u201cgrave and major problem\u201d when self-professed Catholic faculty at Catholic institutions are the sources of teachings that conflict with Church teaching on important policy issues rather than defend it.<\/p>\n
\tWhile Archbishop Vigano noted that most Americans believe they are \u201cessentially a religious people\u201d and still give some importance to religion, he also saw reasons this could change.<\/p>\n
\tHe said that the problem of persecution begins with \u201creluctance to accept the public role of religion,\u201d especially where protecting religious freedom \u201cinvolves beliefs that the powerful of the political society do not share.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe nuncio said it is \u201cessential\u201d to pray for a just resolution to religious freedom controversies, including the controversy over the new federal mandate requiring many Catholic employers to provide morally objectionable insurance coverage for sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.<\/p>\n
\tThe issues that the Catholic bishops have identified in this mandate are \u201cvery real\u201d and \u201cpose grave threats to the vitality of Catholicism in the United States,\u201d Archbishop Vigano said.<\/p>\n
\tThe nuncio also discussed other religious liberty threats.<\/p>\n
\tHe cited a Massachusetts public school curriculum that required young students to take courses that presented same-sex relations as \u201cnatural and wholesome.\u201d Civil authorities rejected parents\u2019 requests for a procedure to exempt their children from the \u201cmorally unacceptable\u201d classes.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIf these children were to remain in public schools, they had to participate in the indoctrination of what the public schools thought was proper for young children,\u201d the archbishop said. \u201cPut simply, religious freedom was forcefully pushed aside once again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCatholic Charities agencies have also been kicked out of social service programs because they would not institute policies or practices that violate \u201cfundamental moral principles of the Catholic faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tArchbishop Vigano cited several countries that have witnessed severe persecution like China, Pakistan, India and the Middle East. He praised the martyrs past and present who would not compromise on \u201cthe principles of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWhile some forms of persecution are violent and cruel, others aim to incapacitate the faith by encouraging people to renounce their beliefs or the public aspects of their faith, in the face of \u201cgreat hardships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFidelity to God and the Church has \u201chastened martyrdom and persecution for many believers of the past, and of today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIn all of these instances, we see that the faithful persist in their fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Holy Church! For throughout her history, the Church has gained strength when persecuted,\u201d the archbishop said.<\/p>\n
\tReligious liberty is a human, civil and natural right that is not conferred by the state, he said, adding \u201creligious freedom is the exercise of fidelity to God and his Holy Church without compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhat God has given, the servant state does not have the competence to remove,\u201d Archbishop Vigano affirmed.<\/p>\n
\n
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South Bend, Ind., Nov 12, 2012 \/ 07:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has told the University of Notre Dame that there is a concrete “menace” to religious liberty in the U.S. that is advancing in part because some influe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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