In the late 1800s Pope Pius IX published a list of condemned propositions which he saw in the "modern world." Among the propositions he condemned were:
15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.
55. The Church ought not to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.
77. In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship.
78. Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own peculiar worship.
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These are a few of the ideas that Pope Pius XI condemned. Underlying these condemnations was a belief that "error has no rights." Those who had these beliefs therefore had no right to practice their beliefs.
Today, some Catholic bishops in our country seem to agree with Pope Pius IX. They propose a "Fortnight of Freedom" and are defending religious freedom.
The question that needs to be asked is this: Whose freedom are you defending? Is it your freedom alone or do you believe, as Pius IX did, that because your opponents are in error they have no rights?
In a democracy like ours, the rights of all citizens have to be considered and not just the rights of one group. When November comes around voters should ask for whose rights they are voting.
Marshall Thornton
Duluth
