ARCHBISHOP MAMBERTI: FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION

Vatican City, 16 January 2013 (VIS) - Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, was interviewed by Vatican Radio on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in several cases relating to freedom of conscience and religion.

"On 15 January, the European Court of Human Rights published its judgements on four cases relating to the freedom of conscience and religion of employees in the United Kingdom. Two of these cases concern employees’ freedom to wear a small cross around their neck in the workplace, while the other two concern the freedom to object in conscience to the celebration of a civil union between persons of the same sex and to conjugal counselling for couples of the same sex."

Some time ago, the Holy See’s Mission to the Council of Europe published a Note on the Church’s freedom and institutional autonomy. The archbishop explained the context of the Note as "the issue of the Church’s freedom in her relations with civil authorities," which "is at present being examined by the European Court of Human Rights in two cases involving the Orthodox Church of Romania and the Catholic Church. These are the Sindacatul 'Pastorul cel Bun' v. Romania and Fernandez Martinez v. Spain cases. On this occasion, the Permanent Representation of the Holy See to the Council of Europe drew up a synthetic note explaining the Magisterium [official Church teaching] on the freedom and institutional autonomy of the Catholic Church."

"In these cases," the archbishop said, "the European Court must decide whether the civil power respected the European Convention on Human Rights in refusing to recognize a trade union of priests [in the Romanian case] and in refusing to appoint a teacher of religion who publicly professes positions contrary to the teaching of the Church [in the Spanish case]. In both cases, the rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression were invoked in order to constrain religious communities to act in a manner contrary to their canonical status and the Magisterium. Thus, these cases call into question the Church’s freedom to function according to her own rules and not to be subject to civil rules other than those necessary to ensure that the common good and just public order are respected. The Church has always had to defend herself in order to preserve her autonomy with regard to the civil power and ideologies. Today, an important issue in Western countries is to determine how the dominant culture, strongly marked by materialist individualism and relativism, can understand and respect the nature of the Church, which is a community founded on faith and reason."

Faced with this situation, "the Church is aware of the difficulty of determining the relations between the civil authorities and the different religious communities in a pluralist society with regard to the requirements of social cohesion and the common good. In this context, the Holy See draws attention to the necessity of maintaining religious freedom in its collective and social dimension. This dimension corresponds to the essentially social nature both of the person and of the religious fact in general. The Church does not ask that religious communities be lawless zones but that they be recognized as spaces for freedom, by virtue of the right to religious freedom, while respecting just public order. This teaching is not reserved to the Catholic Church; the criteria derived from it are founded in justice and are therefore of general application."

"Furthermore, the juridical principle of the institutional autonomy of religious communities is widely recognized by States that respect religious freedom, as well as by international law. The European Court of Human Rights itself has regularly stated this principle in several important judgements. Other institutions have also affirmed this principle. This is notably the case with the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and also with the United Nations Committee for Human Rights in, respectively, the 'Final Document' of the Vienna Conference of 19 January 1989 and 'General Observation no. 22 on the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion' of 30 July 1993. It is nevertheless useful to recall and defend this principle of the autonomy of the Church and the civil power"

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 16 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino as apostolic nuncio to Malaysia and to East Timor and as apostolic delegate to Brunei. Archbishop Marino, titular of Natchitoches, was previously apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh.

A FARM UNDER HEAVEN IN ST. PETER'S SQUARE

Vatican City, 15 January 2013 (VIS) – Thursday, 17 January―in celebration of the Feast of St. Anthony Abbot, patron and protector of animals―the Italian Association of Livestock Farmers (AIA) will hold its traditional exhibition of farm animals, "A Farm under Heaven", in front of St. Peter's Square.

The day will officially begin with Mass for the farmers and their families to be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica at 10:30 a.m., presided by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City. This will be followed by the solemn blessing of a procession of horses and riders along Via della Conciliazione. Even from 9:00 a.m. on, however, in the Pio XII Square directly in front of the Bernini colonnade around St. Peter's Square, there will be an exhibit of the national agriculture and livestock association's production including cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and more.

Just as in past years, pet owners are invited to bring their cats and dogs for a free check-up from veterinarians provided by the association.

The tradition of celebrating St. Anthony Abbot's feastday, deeply rooted in the farming community, is very widespread in all of the Italian agricultural communities. In the words of the president of AIA, Nino Andena, "it is a moment of celebration that we want to share with others in order to testify to the active role of farmers and ranchers within society."

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 15 January 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father appointed Bishop Desiderius Rwoma as bishop of Bukoba (area 8,608, population 876,350, Catholics 527,515, priests 128, religious 438),Tanzania. Bishop Rwoma, formerly bishop of Singida, Tanzania, was also named as apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the Diocese of Singida. He succeeds Bishop Nestorius Timanywa of Bukoba, whose resignation from the pastoral care of that diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

BENEDICT XVI PRAISES WORK OF VATICAN'S PUBLIC SAFETY INSPECTORATE

Vatican City, 14 January 2013 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received members of the General Inspectorate of Public Safety in the Vatican as is customary at the beginning of the new year, to exchange greetings for the new year. In his address he emphasized the dedication and professionalism with which they undertake their tasks, especially during events with faithful and pilgrims who "arrive from all over the world to meet the successor of Peter and to visit the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, as well as to pray at the tombs of my venerated predecessors, particularly Blessed John Paul II.

The Pope recalled that the duty of the members of the Inspectorate also extends to his pastoral visits and apostolic trips to Italy and he thanked them for "the manner and spirit that animate your vigilant and qualified service. It is a manner that, at the same time that it honours your identity as functionaries of the Italian State and members of the Church, also attests to the good relations between Italy and the Holy See." He also expressed the desire that this task, not exempt from sacrifice and danger, be always inspired by "a steadfast Christian faith that is, undoubtedly, the most precious treasure and spiritual valour that your families have entrusted you with and which you are called to impart to your children. The Year of Faith that the entire Church is now living is also, for you, an opportunity to return to the Gospel message in order to let it enter more deeply into your consciences and your daily life, courageously witnessing to the love of God in every area, even that of your jobs."

"May your presence be," he concluded, "an ever more valid guarantee of that good order and tranquillity that are fundamental to building a peaceful and calm social life and that, besides being taught by the Gospel message, are a sign of true civilization."