Vatican II and Religious Freedom: Negative or Positive Right?
Question
I have a question: What is the authentic teaching of Vatican II on religious liberty? Some claim that it affirms a negative right rather than a positive one. Is that correct?
Answer
Dignitatis humanae teaches that 'all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.' (Paragraph 2)
Some have attempted to reconcile DH and Quanta Cura by making a distinction between:
- The right to do X – POSITIVE RIGHT (condemned in Quanta Cura)
- The right not to be hindered from doing X – NEGATIVE RIGHT (as allegedly defined in DH).
However, this distinction is ultimately illusory, since the Magisterium has condemned the very notion of religious liberty as a right. Even a so-called negative right implies that civil authorities have no right to repress the public profession of false religions, except for reasons of public order. However, this contradicts Catholic teaching:
'…against the doctrine of Scripture, of the Church, and of the Holy Fathers, they do not hesitate to assert that "the best condition of civil society is that in which no duty is attributed to the civil power of restraining by enacted penalties, offenders against the Catholic religion, except insofar as public peace may require".' (Pius IX, Quanta Cura, n. 3)
'Thus the two principles are clarified
to which recourse must be had in concrete cases for the answer to the serious
question concerning the attitude which the jurist, the statesman and the
sovereign Catholic state is to adopt in consideration of the community of
nations in regard to a formula of religious and moral toleration as described
above. First: that which does
not correspond to truth or to the norm of morality objectively has no right to
exist, to be spread or to be activated. Secondly: failure to impede this with civil laws
and coercive measures can nevertheless be justified in the interests of a
higher and more general good.' (Pius
XII, Ci Riesce)
'[…] Wherefore, civil society must
acknowledge God as its Founder and Parent, and must obey and reverence His
power and authority. Justice
therefore forbids, and reason itself forbids, the State to be godless; or to
adopt a line of action which would end in godlessness-namely, to treat the
various religions (as they call them) alike, and to bestow upon them
promiscuously equal rights and privileges. Since, then, the profession of one religion is
necessary in the State, that religion must be professed which alone is true,
and which can be recognized without difficulty, especially in Catholic States,
because the marks of truth are, as it were, engravers upon it. This religion, therefore, the rulers of
the State must preserve and protect, if they would provide - as they should do
- with prudence and usefulness for the good of the community. For public
authority exists for the welfare of those whom it governs; and, although its
proximate end is to lead men to the prosperity found in this life, yet, in so
doing, it ought not to diminish, but rather to increase, man's capability of
attaining to the supreme good in which his everlasting happiness consists:
which never can be attained if religion be disregarded.' (Leo XIII, Libertas
Praestantissimum, n. 21.)
Even if we concede that only the notion of religious liberty as a positive right contradicts Catholic teaching, it is evident that the post-conciliar popes have explicitly taught religious liberty as such.
'Religious freedom is the pinnacle of
all other freedoms. It is a sacred and inalienable right. It includes on the
individual and collective levels the freedom to follow one’s conscience in
religious matters and, at the same time, freedom of worship. It includes the
freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest
one’s beliefs in public. It must be possible to profess and freely manifest
one’s religion and its symbols without endangering one’s life and personal freedom.
Religious freedom is rooted in the dignity of the person; it safeguards moral
freedom and fosters mutual respect.' (Benedict XVI, Ecclesia in
Medio Oriente, n. 26)
'The Synod Fathers spoke of the importance of respect for religious freedom, viewed as a fundamental human right. This includes ''the freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one’s beliefs in public''.' ('Pope' Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 255)
The True Interpretation of Religious Liberty in Dignitatis Humanae - Free download (PDF)
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🔎SEE ALSO:
✅ The Hermeneutic of Absurdity
✅The Mystery of Iniquity: A Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2
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