Second, to leverage the global footprint of the University of Notre Dame, to highlight the global nature of this fight for religious freedom.First, to connect those who are engaged in the fight for religious freedom, to share work, encouragement and support.Churches are burned, and believers are beheaded.”Ĭole noted that the purpose of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit is threefold. Persecution of Catholics and Christians around the world persists. That penalty – death – also still awaits those convicted of blasphemy laws. In addition, he said, “there are still 13 countries in the world where being an atheist is a crime punishable by death. The practical effect, however, is to eliminate religion in schools, including religious educators.” “Darkness is reaching out in an attempt to envelop the earth, and crush religious freedom in places where it is most needed.”įor example, he said, a movement called the Abidjan Principles “has the purported purpose of forcing religious schools in developing communities to conform to public educational standards.
Those defending religious liberty also cannot lose sight of what is happening in the rest of the world. It is because assaults on religious freedom have become so common in American life.” “There is a reason why cases involving religious freedom have come to prominence in the Supreme Court’s docket. Still, he said, there is much more work to be done. And we have heard the decision of the court in favor of families of faith who were denied public educational benefits simply because they wanted their children to be educated at faith-based schools.” We have also seen the court side with a public school employee who merely wanted to exercise his right to pray after a public event. “We have seen the Supreme Court of the United States come down decisively in favor of neutrality when religious groups wanted to participate with secular groups in displays on public property. What is worse, people of faith are often scapegoated for the outbreaks.”īut “the fog of the pandemic” is lifting, he said, noting that in recent months in the United States, momentous court decisions at every level struck down discriminatory restrictions on people of faith and religious practices. “We saw that when fear and panic strikes the general population, people of faith are often the first to suffer the repressive restrictions of government. Since the time of the initiative's founding three years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how vulnerable freedom of religion actually is - and how little it is valued by those in power, said Cole. This year’s summit in Rome underscored the Religious Liberty Initiative’s global reach. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles participated in the inaugural Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit in 2021, held on the University of Notre Dame’s campus in Indiana. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, offered a keynote address of the summit - calling for “ a global effort to defend and advance the religious freedom of all the children of God in every nation of the world.”Ĭardinal Timothy Dolan, Catholic archbishop of New York, and Elder Quentin L. “The protection and defense of religious freedom is central to the Catholic faith today,” he said. This document sets out the Catholic Church’s support for religious freedom. 7, 1965, at the end of Vatican Council II. Welcoming guests to the 2022 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit, Cole addressed the summit’s theme, “Dignitatis Humanae” - taken from the statement of the same name promulgated by Pope Paul VI on Dec.
“The world is also learning that it is an essential precondition for political freedom, economic prosperity and human flourishing,” he said.
Marcus Cole, dean of Notre Dame Law School and founder of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Initiative. ROME, Italy - Religious freedom is a necessary precondition for anyone to choose a faith, said G.
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