United States: Religious liberty at the service of international peace

Mgr. Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See at UNO, has pleaded for freedom to profess and practice any religion, during the general assembly on November 14. According to him religious liberty can reinforce international peace: “While we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, let us not forget that people are victimized because of their religious convictions in some parts of the world,” he said. Yet religious liberty, which is an integral part of the basic liberties of the human being, often helps to come to “an understanding of and a feeling for others”, allowing the individual who professes his faith to live alongside his neighbor “in a relationship based more on an objective code than a subjective one”.

For the permanent observer from the Holy See to the UN, it is equally a notable means of “reinforcing the moral integrity of people”. Indeed he commented, “society can rely upon believers, who, on account of their deep religious convictions, will succumb less easily to dominant ideologies or trends, but will do their best to act in accordance with their profound aspirations, for truth and for justice, which is an essential condition in order to ensure peace”.

Mgr. Migliore believes that dialogue and cooperation with other religions can help all the world organiaations “to obtain peace, harmony and understanding”. He concluded his speech by affirming that the Holy See hopes that the international community will continue to safeguard the liberty of individuals and communities, in order to allow them to profess and practice their religion, “an essential means of maintaining the harmonious co-existence between peoples, and to reinforce social harmony and the universal brotherhood between nations and people”

– Is such a speech Catholic or Masonic ?