Religious Freedom: The First Freedom

“Defending Religious Freedom
Where do we go from here? Given all that we’ve discussed, what do we
do to preserve and strengthen the great gift of religious liberty?
• Prayer
Prayer is the most powerful tool we have. Conversation with Our
Lord opens up wellsprings of grace that enable us to become effective
instruments in His hands and that assist others in making prudent
decisions. We must first thank God for the great gift of religious
liberty and ask Him to help us to use it wisely. We must pray for our
elected leaders and all public officials whose duties affect religious
liberty. We must intercede for those whose religious liberty or right
of conscience has been violated. We must ask blessings on those who
look on the right of conscience and religious freedom with disdain or
those who do not yet appreciate these gifts.
• Education
Religious liberty and the right of conscience will be further eroded
unless the Catholic community stays informed about the challenges
these rights face and the reasons why they are integral to a just society.
We encourage you to share this statement with family and friends
so that they too may learn more about this issue. More thorough
examinations of this issue may be found in Dignitatis Humanae,
which is the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious
Freedom, as well as “Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace,” which
was Pope Benedict XVI’s message for the 2011 World Day of Peace.
Our diocesan newspapers are invaluable sources of information
about current threats to religious freedom and the Church’s efforts to
support religious freedom.
• Action
The most basic way for us to participate in the political process is
by voting in local, state, and federal elections, an action we should
always undertake with prayer and prudence. After that, standing up
for religious liberty only takes one click of the keyboard or mouse.
Our Maryland Catholic Advocacy Network, run by the Maryland
Catholic Conference, provides updates on public policy issues of
concern and provides pre-drafted e-mails to send to lawmakers and
other public officials on key issues. You can register online at www.
mdcathcon.org. There also are opportunities to advocate for religious
liberty in person, such as the Catholic Lobby Night held every
Presidents’ Day in Annapolis.”

_Prayer – No barrier but our own hearts.

_Education – Awareness as suggested in the readable 16 page statement and such as this blog and diocesan news and webs.

_Action – Using pre-drafted emails from our dioceses for clear messages to lawmakers etc. One mouse click – among many that might not otherwise happen.

Sounds like a plan that could work to me. Some hope in the confusion around us.