Int'l Religious Liberty by MSW. MGB: It is bordering on the bizarre that this conference is being held on a morning where reports are coming in of the death of the American Ambassador and attacks on US embassies in reprisal for an insulting film about the Prophet being released by an American pastor. I'd like to think that religious liberty post Council means that we would be above such reprisals, but our history says otherwise.
Religious liberty essentially means that the group rights of the faithful do not trump the conscience rights of individuals - and that has to include individuals within the faith. More importantly, the responsibility to obey the teachings of the Church must be seen for our own moral good - not as some act of loyalty to the group. Indeed, as thinking Catholics, what we sometimes owe the Church is to not be silent when we know her bishops are taking her down the garden path. The Church still has much to learn from modernity - given the recent events in Philadelphia and Kansas City. The egotism of certain bishops on doctrinal matters is no more worthy of protection than it is on governance issues and compliance with Dallas norms. The Spirit of Prophesy demands that we speak out when the Church is wrong. Indeed, as Ezekiel says, we cannot be silent lest the consequences of the error we refuse to speak against rebound upon us.
Sometimes to love the Church, we must protest against it. Pandering to the bishops does not help them.
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