Fortnight For Freedom - Diocese of Springfield in Illinois

Day 6 June 26, 2013Reflections for theFORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOMThese reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intendedfor daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witnessin support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection.The freedom or immunity from coercion inmatters religious which is the endowment of personsas individuals is also to be recognized as their rightwhen they act in community. Religious bodies are arequirement of the social nature both of man and ofreligion itself.Provided the just requirements of public order areobserved, religious bodies rightfully claim freedom inorder that they may govern themselves according totheir own norms, honor the Supreme Being in publicworship, assist their members in the practice of thereligious life, strengthen them by instruction, and promoteinstitutions in which they may join together for thepurpose of ordering their lives in accordance with theirreligious principles.Religious bodies also have the right not to behindered, either by legal measures or by administrativeaction on the part of government, in the selection,training, appointment, and transferral of their own ministers,in communicating with religious authorities andcommunities abroad, in erecting buildings for religiouspurposes, and in the acquisition and use of suitablefunds or properties.believe. They must be free to gather for worship, toinstruct their members, and to develop institutionsthat further the religious life of their members. Fromwithin the Catholic tradition this would include religiousinstitutes and orders, schools, fraternities andsodalities, prayer groups, and Bible study groups.Likewise, religious bodies must be free to appointand train their own ministers. For Catholics, thatmeans the Church’s freedom at least to appointbishops and ordain priests. It also means that Catholicsare free to be loyal to their church and its leaderswhile also being loyal to their country and its leaders.Religious bodies should also be free to govern themselvesfinancially.Consider examples in contemporary life wheregovernments—federal, state, or local—fail to respectthe above rights? What is the relationship betweenthe religious freedom of individuals and institutions?Declaration on Religious Liberty(Dignitatis Humanae), no. 4December 7, 1965Reflection for Day SixThe Council once more addresses the public nature ofreligious belief. Religious communities have a right toact as a community of faith, for this is inherent withinthe social nature of human beings and religious beliefitself. Provided that the just civil and religious rightsof others are not transgressed, religious bodies mustpossess the freedom to live out publicly what theyExcerpts from The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott,SJ, General Editor, copyright © 1966 by America Press, Inc.Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Copyright ©2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington,DC. All rights reserved.