Declaration on religious liberty

7 December 1965

(1) The long 19th century

Response to social upheaval

“If anyone thinks that… the Roman Pontiff can and should reconcile and harmonise himself with progress, with liberalism and with recent civilisation… let him be anathema”Syllabus of Errors

A perfect society

1870 Papal infallibilityVatican I

1925 Feast of Christ the KingPius XI

1961 Mater et MagistraJohn XXIII

Error has no rights

• If the majority are Catholic, state has duty to profess the Catholic faith

• Citizens professing other religions do not have the right not to be prevented from professing them; but may be tolerated

• When Catholics a minority, state must guarantee them freedom

Changing world: the challenge of peace

(2) Pacem in Terris

• Different vision: establish human order in time• Dignity of the human person • “..the right of being able to worship God in

accordance with the right dictates of one’s conscience and to profess one’s religion in private and public” (n 14)

• UN Declaration of Human Rights: “goal to be sought by all peoples and nations”

• From opposition to engagement

(3) The American experience

American Freedom and Catholic Power

JFK

If my church attempted to influence me in a way which was improper or which adversely affected my responsibilities as a public servant sworn to uphold the Constitution, then I would reply to them that this was an improper action on their part. It was one to which I would not subscribe.

Press conference Houston, Texas, 12 Sept 1960

We do not want an official state church. If 99% of the population were Catholics, I would still be opposed to it…

CBS-TV, Face the Nation, 30 Oct 1960

Development of the Declaration

• Schema on the church• Decree on Ecumenism• Independent document

Key arguments against:• Concept of religious liberty• Opened door to modernism and liberalism

Authors Pavan and Murray

Opening words

“People nowadays are becoming increasingly conscious of the dignity of the human person; a growing number demand that they should exercise fully their own judgement and a responsible freedom in their actions and should not be subject to external pressure or coercion but inspired by a sense of duty…This Vatican Council pays attention to these spiritual aspirations and, with a view to declaring to what extent they are in accord with truth and justice, searches the sacred tradition and teaching of the church, from which it draws new insights in harmony with the old.”

Article two

• Every person has a right to religious freedom • Concerns the relationship between people• Right to freedom from coercion• Right founded on the dignity of the human

person• To be recognised as a civil right in

constitutional law

Article 6

“If because of the circumstances of a particular people, special civil recognition is given to one religious community in the constitutional organisation of a state, the right of all citizens and religious communities to religious freedom must be recognised and respected by all”

Articles 7-11

• Criteria: the common good and public order• Education: freedom can become the pursuit of self

interest• Revelation: does not formally affirm religious liberty

but deeply rooted in it“Christ, who is our Master and Lord and at the same time is meek and humble of heart, acted patiently in attracting and inviting his disciples,,, He bore witness to the truth but refused to use force to impose it…” (n11)

Articles 12-15

Development of doctrine:• Church not always acted in this spirit• Democratic constitutional state• “The leaven of the Gospel has long been at

work..”Freedom to accomplish missionMake disciples of all nations

UN visit 4 October 1965

“You proclaim here the rights and fundamental duties of human beings - their dignity, their liberty, and above all their religious liberty.”Paul VI

Final vote: 2,384 - 70

End of Christendom

“The church… does not rest its hopes on privileges offered to it by civil authorities; indeed it will even give up the exercise of certain legitimately acquired rights in situations where their use calls into question the sincerity of its witness or where new circumstances require a different arrangement”. (GeS 76)

New tone

Yours is a land of ancient cultures, the cradle of great religions, the home of a nation that has sought God with a relentless desire in deep meditation and silence, and hymns of fervent prayer.Paul VI on visit to India 1964

Questions

• The church in the public square: dialogue Issue of “Catholic” Europe and Scotland today• Acceptance of the secular state Are we tempted to retreat?• Pluralism: issues of discernment and

interpretation Whose voices?