Christ fasting for forty days and being tempted by the devil
12th century mosaic
The Basilica of St. Mark, Venice, Italy
The spirit of freedom inspired our founders to craft the Bill of Rights—a seal of freedom on the nation founded by the Declaration of Independence. Our First Amendment is one worth pondering this Independence Day: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances."
Our founders recognized that human freedom is God-given and cannot be taken away (the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are "endowed by [our] Creator" and "unalienable," wrote Jefferson). This was no invention of 18th-century liberals. After all, we are made in the image of God, to love, and what is love without freedom? Theology and doctrine express this great insight: that humans are free at the core of our being. We are children of God.
Irresponsible freedom, though, is dangerous. Our American love of independence has moved far beyond our founders' dream of freedom. Our nation's founders thought in terms of the common good—in fact, four of our United States actually retain the official name "commonwealth" (can you name them?). The earliest citizens of our nation knew that individual freedom is tempered by the good of all, that if everyone did everything he or she wanted to do, society would suffer. Chaos would reign.
An Ongoing Struggle
Our nation not only faces the rampant consumerism that grabs all and uses all with abandon. We not only are ruining our ecology without thought of the good of future generations. We not only isolate the poor from fuller freedom. We also are coming to grips, as a nation, with some of the most fundamental legal issues Americans have ever faced, the human life issues.
Are we free to kill helpless and vulnerable humans, whether unborn or aged and infirm? Are we free to help our friends or our patients kill themselves? Are we free to commit suicide? These acts do not honor the true meaning of freedom.
True freedom is freedom in relationship to God and in relationship to each other. True freedom has limits and boundaries. The exercise of freedom demands respect for moral law, for God's plan for the human race and God's Church. We must prohibit acts that keep others from enjoying their rights. But prohibited acts must not include free association, free assembly and free speech. That is as self-evident as the fact that we all are created equal, and that we all have certain unalienable rights endowed by our Creator.
Let us honor true freedom this Independence Day by applying what we've learned in our society to the life of the Church. We will find unity by using persuasion when possible, encouraging freedom of speech, and working together for the common good.