Catholics and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must continue to stand together as a “vital bulwark” against those in American society who want to “reduce religion to a purely private reality,” the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told a historic gathering at Brigham Young University in Provo.
Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago spoke Feb. 23 on “Catholics and Latter-day Saints: Partners in the Defense of Religious Freedom” as part of the Mormon school’s forum series. He was the first cardinal to speak at the university.
Cardinal George praised the Mormons for their work with Catholics to protect the conscience rights of health care providers and institutions that do not want to participate in abortion or assisted suicide and to defend marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Well, if the Catholics want to start saying how much they have in common with the Mormons, by all means let’s get out of their way and let them do it.
When the government fails to protect the consciences of its citizens, it falls to religious bodies to defend them,”
And when the religious bodies fail to protect its little boys or its females from predators, who comes in to defend them?
government should never stand between its citizens and almighty God
Never? Is the cardinal opposed to the decision in Reynolds vs. United States (1878) where the US Supreme Court said that no, religion is not a excuse for committing crimes – like polygamy?
“But that does not mean you accept everything they do,”
Good. Then it’s perfectly reasonable not to ‘accept’ you for being Catholic or Mormon, and deny the legality of your marriages under the law? Or would that be persecution?