Freedom of Expression

  

The letter of Father Romeo Convocar, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Agana, can be found here for those who are interested in reading it. According to his letter: 

"The Catholic Church is often errantly criticized by those who say, "The church should stay out of political matters."  Rather, Catholics and other Christians are citizens of our beautiful country.  As citizens, the Church and its people have a right and responsibility to contribute to the common good of our society.  We help the common good of our communities by practicing our right to free speech and helping to shape public policy through dialogue and active community."

Many people often cite "Separation of Church and State" to silence the Church and to keep her out of political discussions.  However, the legal definition of "separation of Church and State" is: the separation of religion and government mandated under the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution that forbids governmental establishment or preference of a religion and that preserves religious freedom from governmental intrusion.

Freedom of Expression is vital in our community, and the Church has a responsibility to transmit morality to the people for the salvation of souls.  There are four reasons why Freedom of expression is important in our society.  

1.  Individual development and human dignity.  It is important to our growth as a person to have the right to present our ideas and to consider other points of view. Our dignity as a person should be respected by allowing us the freedom to say what we think and to hear what others think.

2.  Advancement of knowledge.  It is easier for new discoveries to be made when ideas can be discussed freely.  Even if one disagrees with someone, that person may say something that helps one to test his/her knowledge and increase his/her understanding. 

3.  The maintenance of representative democracy.  Individual citizens participate in running our country through their power to vote for government officials and make choices about government policies.  In order to make wise choices, one would need to have good information.  Free expression never guaranteed complete or accurate information, but it increases the chances of getting such information.  The individual determines which and what information are accurate.  That cannot happen if free expression is suppressed, allowing individuals to hear only one side of the story.  

4.  Peaceful social change.  Free expression allows one to try to influence public opinion by persuasion without feeling you have to resort to violence to make changes.  

Therefore, Father Romeo was correct that the Church has a duty and responsibility to express her stance on the abortion issue.  In fact, the Church should come out more to catechize the faithful on the sanctity of life because many have been led astray on the abortion issue.  He and Archbishop Michael Byrnes are also correct in supporting the Guam Heartbeat bill, which does not contradict the teachings of the Church that human life begins at conception.  Whether the Guam Heartbeat bill passes or not is irrelevant and left in the hands of the Guam Legislature.  The important thing is that the Church be able to express herself, so that she can save souls by persuading some people into believing the sanctity of life.  If we are to change public policy, it starts first with winning the hearts of the people, which is done through free expression and proper catechesis.