Religious freedom more than free exercise of worship: Abp Mamberti
December 08, 2012: "The full guarantee of religious freedom cannot be limited only
to the free exercise of worship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension
of religion, and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building
the social order", said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with
States, at the 29th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which took place in Dublin, Ireland
on 6 and 7 December. The archbishop mentioned that "among the fundamental freedoms,
the right to freedom of religion figures prominently for the Holy See. The OSCE has
always emphasized the positive contributions of religious communities to society.
In this sense, the activity of the OSCE has ensured that public debate gives space
to viewpoints inspired by a religious vision in all its dimensions, including ritual,
worship, education, dissemination of information and the freedom to profess and choose
one’s religion". "In fact, the rights associated with religion are all the more
in need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular ideology
or with majority religious positions of an exclusive nature", he continued. "With
the increase of religious intolerance throughout the world, it is well documented
that Christians are among those most discriminated against, even within the OSCE region.
In spite of the commitments undertaken by participating States in the area of religious
freedom, in some countries intolerant and even discriminatory laws, decisions and
behaviour, either by action or omission ... deny this freedom", he added.