Sunday Sermon, June 28th -- What Does Religious Liberty Really Mean? (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

We are in the midst of the week of religious liberty, called for by the US Bishops from the vigil of the feast of Sts John Fisher and Thomas More to the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul (June 21-29).

Religious Liberty has been a hot topic over the past decade -- the Obama Administration (and Joe Biden, in particular) was notorious for threatening the freedom of the Church, but President Trump has been a real champion of religious liberty both in our nation and throughout the world.

But what does the Church really mean by "religious liberty"? And did the Catholic Church violate freedom of religion with the Crusades or the punishment of heretics in the Middle Ages. We answer both these objections (the Crusades were not religious wars for us, but were defensive wars trying to stop Islamic terrorism and extensive slavery; the punishment of heretics also was not limiting religious freedom but only insisting that those who claim to be Catholic Christians could not teach doctrines contrary to the Catholic Church).

Further, we discuss true and false notions of "freedom" in relation to following one's conscience, and why the Church insists that we can never use force to convert someone to our beliefs.  Finally, we look to how we can preserve religious liberty in our nation: By voting for political candidates who defend religious liberty, and by remaining united in prayer.

Listen online [here]!