Key points from U.S. BISHOPS’ ad hoc committee’s statement on religious liberty

    WASHINGTON (CNS) – Here are some key points raised in “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty” by the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. The document was made public April 12.
➤ American Catholics should not have to choose between being Catholics and being Americans.
➤ Attacks on religious liberty have real-world consequences.
➤ Religious liberty requires constant vigilance and protection, or it will disappear.
➤ Unjust laws (those out of harmony with the moral law) cannot be obeyed and no accommodation can be made to an unjust law.
➤ Christians of various traditions share with Catholics a concern about efforts to strip religious arguments from public debate.
➤ If religious liberty erodes at home, U.S. defense of religious freedom abroad becomes less credible.
➤ All segments of the U.S. Catholic population must pray and fast for religious liberty.
➤ A special period of prayer, study, catechesis and public action called the “fortnight for freedom” will take place from June 21 to July 4.
➤ Bishops and priests should preach about religious liberty here and abroad Nov. 25, the feast of Christ the King.
(Also, see Archbishop Aymond’s April 21, 2012 column, “U.S. bishops issue document on religious liberty.”)