The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus told young pilgrims in
Madrid that the right to practice their faith could be kept or lost in
the future, depending on their public witness and awareness.
“What
are you going to do about it? Because I think you’ll have longer time
to do something about it than I will,” he said, addressing over 1,000
pilgrims at World Youth Day 2011.
The Catholic fraternal and
charitable organization's leader said the tone of Christians' public
witness would be central to preserving religious liberty.
What
“(w)e have to do is show people by the way we live our life that
Christianity doesn’t frustrate human happiness – that Christianity
actually promotes human happiness,” he observed.
The Supreme
Knight was taking part in a panel discussion along with Denver
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Law Professor Helen Alvare of George Mason
University, Father Thomas Rosica of Canada's Salt and Light Media, and
Pablo Barrosa, producer of the upcoming film “Cristiada.”
Their venue was the Love and Life Center at Madrid’s Palacio de Desportes, a hub for English-speaking pilgrims this week.
“Religious
liberty goes to the center of what it means to be a person,” said
Anderson, echoing the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. “It is
foundational. It is at the very heart of the human person because it
involves the human conscience.”
The Supreme Knight explained that
the free exercise of religion was also at the heart of the United
States Constitution. He went on to discuss what motivates modern attacks
on this central human right.
He pinpointed the influence of three
19th century thinkers who attacked faith from different angles: Karl
Marx, the Communist thinker who dubbed religion “the opium of the
people;” Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher who called
Christianity “a slave religion;” and Sigmund Freud, the psychologist who
labeled religion “an infantile delusion.”
The impact of these
anti-religious attitudes, he observed, was now being widely felt in
contemporary Western societies. There, he noted, opponents of the
Christian faith, and religion in general, often believe they are
removing an obstacle to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Religion, in other words, is being lumped in with a number of practices that harm society.
“What
do you do with someone who promotes slavery, promotes drug abuse or
promotes insanity?” asked Anderson, explaining this point of view. “Do
you protect their right their liberty to do this? Or do you attempt by
all sorts of means to push these people to the side, to marginalize
them?”
Anderson told his young listeners that they must show the
opponents of religion, and religious freedom, that their view of the
Christian faith is wrong. They should see instead that “people who
follow the truth of Jesus Christ celebrate life and live joyful lives.”
“So
if we are to protect our religious liberty,” he concluded, “we have be a
people who practice and manifest our religious faith, and do so in ways
that make people realize its value and its truth and the contribution
it makes to society.”
Virginia resident Joe Duca, 19, left inspired by Anderson's advice.
“What
really struck is the idea that we must combat our culture with beauty
and that will lead people to truth more so than posturing and political
ideas,” he told CNA as he left the seminar.
Duca said many modern
people seemed stuck in a “selfish” and “loveless” way of living. He was
struck by Anderson's message, and the need to witness through selfless
love.
“It is our job to fight … not with anger, but by showing our
fellow Christians – and particularly our fellow youth – the love we all
want, and that it’s in Christ Jesus.”
Charlene Broad, a 19-year-old pilgrim from Canberra, Australia, agreed.
“It
was a great, inspiring talk. I’m studying journalism, so it has given
me hope for the future to impact upon the world by just telling the
truth.”