Pope Francis Challenged Us All To Defend Religious Liberty. President Obama Should Listen.
Written by Senator Orrin Hatch
All of us in the Capitol are eagerly awaiting the Pope’s address to a joint session of Congress. As the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis transcends our politics and speaks to each of us as God’schildren. If his past statements are prelude, there will likely be areas of disagreement between the Pope and much of his audience, but the Pope’s ultimate message on the value and dignity of life is one we can all support. This is a message that resonates with me strongly, particularly in light of my work on religious liberty throughout my time in Congress. That’s why I was so interested in an exchange between President Obama and Pope Francis that happened during the Pope’svisit to the White House on Wednesday.
President Obama spoke first, citing religious liberty as a cherished value in our culture and emphasizing the challenges religious libertyfaces abroad:
“You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely. (Applause.) Here in the United States, we cherish religious liberty. It was the basis for so much of what brought us together. And here in the United States, we cherish our religious liberty, but around the world, at this very moment, children of God, including Christians, are targeted and even killed because of their faith. Believers are prevented from gathering at their places of worship. The faithful are imprisoned, and churches are destroyed. So we stand with you in defense of religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, knowing that people everywhere must be able to live out their faith free from fear and free from intimidation. (Applause.)”
Pope Francis, by contrast, emphasized that Catholicshere in the United States are “concerned” about the state of religious liberty here at home:
“Mr. President, together with their fellow citizens, American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and the right to religious liberty. That freedom reminds one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.” (Emphasis added.)
The second sentence here is crucial to the American understanding of religious liberty: As we endeavor to build a “just and wisely ordered society,” we must maintain a respect for the deepest concerns and religious liberty of believers.
Shortly after the Pope’s visit, the White House released a fact sheet about “advancing shared values for a better world,” including efforts to protect religious minorities in the Middle East and South and Central Asia and to promote international religious freedom. But nowhere in the fact sheet was there any mention of the importance of religious liberty here in the United States. One could be forgiven for thinking that the White House was suggesting that religious liberty is a concern only in other countries. But as Pope Francis made clear in his own speech, many American Catholics —as well as those of diverse faiths— are concerned about the state of religious liberty here in the United States.
I understand and appreciate that the President recognizes religious liberty as important to the American ideal, but he celebrates our success in safeguarding it here at home prematurely. Instead, the President should heed Pope Francis’s challenge to be vigilant, as we all ought to be, to preserve and defend religious freedom “from everything that would threaten or compromise it” abroad and at home. It was with this goal in mind that I helped author the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to ensure that government in the United States makes real accommodations for religious belief and practice.
When I meet the Pope today, I will thank him for giving voice to those who have concerns about religious liberty here in the United States. I gave an address on the Senate floor on Tuesday welcoming the Pope to Washington and emphasizing the importance of religious liberty. It was the first of eight speeches I plan to give on the subject of religious freedom. I hope the President will listen, and that we can work together to protect and promote religious liberty in the United States and throughout the world.
Orrin Hatch is the senior Senator from Utah and an author of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
