facebook
rss
twitter
  • About
    • Contact
    • Elementary & Secondary Education Department
    • Social Concerns Department
  • Legislative Review
  • Issues
    • Catholic Education
    • Faith and Politics
    • Health Care
    • Life and Dignity
    • Marriage and Family
    • Religious Liberty
    • Social Justice
  • Bishops’ Statements
    • En Español
  • Resources
    • Bulletin Inserts
    • Church Documents
    • PA Catholic Statistics
    • Related Sites
    • Send A Letter to The Editor
  • Subscribe
    • RSS Feeds
    • Via E-mail
  • Contact
  • Podcast

Archbishop Chaput on Religious Liberty

April 17, 2012
by Blue
HHS, Religious Liberty, school choice
Comments are off

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput at St. Patrick Cathedral, Harrisburg. Photo by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness

Archbishop Charles Chaput writes about religious freedom in his most recent column:

“On Thursday, April 12, America’s bishops issued one of their most important statements in years. Our First, Most Cherished Liberty is not just a compelling defense of religious freedom. It’s also a call to action no committed Catholic can afford to ignore.

First, a little history and some background:

In the vision of America’s Founders, God exists, and his sovereignty matters. God endows each person with freedom and rights so that we can fulfill our duties toward him and each other. Our rights come from God, not from the state. Government is justified only insofar as it secures, promotes and defends those natural rights.

As James Madison said in his 1785 “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments”:

“[Man’s duty of honoring God] is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation to the claims of civil society. Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the universe.”

This is why religious liberty is our most important freedom. Our first governor is God, our Creator, the Governor of the universe. We’re created for a higher purpose. We have a religious destiny. Our right to pursue this destiny precedes the state. Any attempt to suppress our right to worship, preach, teach, practice, organize and peacefully engage society because of our belief in God is an attack not only on the cornerstone of human dignity, but also on the nature of the American experiment.”

Read the entire column here.

Social Share
  • google-share

News From Around PA

  • Red Mass to be celebrated at Cathedral of Saint Peter Oct. 6
  • Bishop Bambera to celebrate Respect Life Sunday Mass on Oct. 1 at Cathedral
  • James Amato, Archdiocese’s Secretary for Catholic Human Services, to Retire at End of 2023
  • Beth Alfonsi Appointed Chief of Staff for Independence Mission Schools
  • A Light Shining in the Darkness
  • Regional Coordinator - Security Supervisor (Two openings) Diocese of Pittsburgh
Click To Read More

Post Archives

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

Recent Posts

Talking with Sarah Bowen of The Promise of Life Network: Getting the Real Story about Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Sep 21, 2023
The PCC Talks with the Executive Director of the PA Senate Health & Human Services Committee
Sep 15, 2023
PA Senate Passes Budget Fiscal Code; Will House Return to Vote on it?
Aug 31, 2023

All Issues

  • Catholic Education
  • Faith and Politics
  • Health Care
  • Life and Dignity
  • Marriage and Family
  • Religious Liberty
  • Social Justice

banner

Sign up to join the Catholic Advocacy Network today!

CClogo© 2021 Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Bookmark and Share Site by Halibut Blue® | Login