On November 13, 2008 J. Francis Cardinal Stafford spoke before the International Conference to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. His speech attracted singificant attention for its controversial viewpoint. You can read the full text of the speech by clicking here. Dr. Robert Moon, a member of the ReligiousLiberty.TV advisory panel responds.
By Robert Moon, Ph.D. – Historically, most governments required citizens/subjects to have the same religion or belief-system (e.a. Fascism and communism ) as the ruler(s). Exceptions were seldom tolerated. Those who publicly practiced an alternate belief system to the ruler(s) were often intimidated, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and martyred. In the discussion that follows paradigms typically used by governments attempting to control freedom of conscience are referred to as: the Gold Rule Paradigm (GRP), the Gatekeeper Paradigm (GP), and the Over Stimulation – Fantasy Paradigm (OS-FP).
Conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan, in a column published by Human Events, explores the conflict between those who want to achieve "social peace" between people regardless of their beliefs and the "duty" to "make God's Law man's law." The full article is online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27282&s=rcmp Last week's clash between Dr. James Dobson and Barack Obama is but the latest skirmish in […]
Think about the words "land of the free home of the brave." It takes integrity, sacrifice, awareness, and courage to maintain our freedoms. A nation where freedom reigns needs courageous men and women to speak out when they see injustice. Martin Niemöller is famous for his lament about not speaking out when individuals were unjustly losing their freedom in Nazi […]
We live in very challenging times. In the United States there is polarization of opinion fueled by fear, greed, and political opportunism. The media is contributing to a fantasy world which distracts much of the population from critical issues. Mass communication seems to be managed by vested interests so that citizens do not get important information in an unbiased manner. […]
Religion separated from the political control of the state can be a powerful force for public good. But religion used by the state to further its political purposes will ultimately destroy the state and compromise the effectiveness of the church.
— Lee Boothby, Esq., “Healing the Hurts of the Past,” the role of the Churches in Renewing Societies (Lectures and Documents – Budapest Symposium), March 3-5, 1997, pp. 35-36
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