The Final Consequence of "Religious Liberty"
The Final Consequence of "Religious Liberty"
by Christopher A. Ferrara
http://www.fatimaperspectives.com/latest/perspective493.asp?printer
As Pope after Pope warned before the Second Vatican Council, if the Church were to consent to allow Herself to be reduced to the level of other sects before the law in the name of "religious liberty," it would only be a matter of time before this "liberty" would degenerate into the persecution of Catholics. As Pope Leo XIII warned in his monumental encyclical Immortale Dei:
Now, when the State rests on foundations such as those just named — and for the time being they are greatly in favor — it can easily be seen what an unrightful position the Church is driven into, and how this comes about. For, when the management of public business is in harmony with doctrines of such a kind, the Catholic religion is allowed a standing in civil society equal only, or inferior, to societies alien from it; no regard is paid to the laws of the Church, and she who, by the order and commission of Jesus Christ, has the duty of teaching all nations, finds herself forbidden to take any part in the instruction of the people…. Lastly, they treat the Church with such arrogance that, rejecting entirely her title to the nature and rights of a perfect society, they hold that she differs in no respect from other societies in the State, and for this reason possesses no right nor any legal power of action, save that which she holds by the concession and favor of the government….
http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_le13id.htm
Also on catholictopics_immortale_dei
What Leo XIII predicted has come to pass throughout former Christendom. And now, in Canada, we see the final consequence of the modern notion of "religious liberty." As reported by LifeSiteNews.com on July 19, 2005, "Canada's national public radio CBC Radio has aired a commentary by a retired professor from the Royal Military College calling for state control over religion, specifically Catholicism." And this, mind you, only days before Canada legalized "gay marriage."
The professor in question, a Mr. Ferguson, opined during the broadcast that "Given the inertia of the Catholic Church, perhaps we could encourage reform by changing the environment in which all religions operate … Couldn't we insist that human rights, employment and consumer legislation apply to them as it does other organizations? Then it would be illegal to require a particular marital status as a condition of employment or to exclude women from the priesthood."
Lifesite’s report notes that "The former professor pitched his idea as a boon to religious freedom. ‘We could also help the general cause of religious freedom by introducing a code of moral practice for religions,’ he said. ‘They will never achieve unity so why not try for compatibility?’"
Thus, precisely as Leo warned, the enemies of the Church, acting in the name of "religious liberty," are now proposing the Catholic Church "differs in no respect from other societies in the State, and for this reason possesses no right nor any legal power of action, save that which she holds by the concession and favor of the government…."
Behold the final consequence of the modern notion of "religious liberty" -- liberty for everyone and everything except the truth enunciated by the one true Church, whose enemies now threaten openly to regulate Her very existence by the power of State.