CL Module 8 - Freedom of The Church Lecture
CL Module 8 - Freedom of The Church Lecture
CL Module 8 - Freedom of The Church Lecture
FREEDOM
It is the power of the will to determine itself and to enact itself without external
or internal influence, and to not act with coercion or force from anybody.
Religious Freedom
This is the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of one’s own
conscience. Specifically, it points to freedom from constraint by the civil law.
The Second Vatican Council declared that:
“The private and public acts of religion by which men direct themselves to God
according to their conscience transcend by their very nature the earthly and
temporal order of things.
“Therefore the civil authority, the purpose of which is the care of the common
good in the temporal order, must recognize and look with favor on the
religious life of the citizens. But if it presumes to control or restrict religious
activity, it must be said to have exceeded the limits of its power.” (Vatican II
document)
MORALS
JOHN 8:32- "You will know the truth shall set you free."
True freedom is what all people long for. Most of us appreciate the fact that
we enjoy some freedom in a democratic society. We are able to live a
comfortable life.
As individuals, we have the right to lead the lifestyle that we prefer. We can
come and go as we please, we can get married or remain single, we can have
families or choose not to have families, we can work or choose not to work;
we are free to live our lives as we wish.
Our ignorance, greed, selfishness, desires, and the creations of our minds are
the things that oppress us.
From the Christians point of view, we are not free. Most of us are still very
much slaves tour own desires and wants, obsessive anxieties, fears, and
thoughts. We are slaves of technology and fashion too. People nowadays
could not live without the latest gadgets in the market. And we think that not
having fashionable clothes, high-tech cellphones, and fancy cars would render
us useless and less human in society.
-Author's Reflection
ST.JOAN OF ARC
Burned at the stake as a heritic after a politically motivatd trial, Joan was
beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.
During the Hundred Years War, she led French troops against the English and
recaptured the cities of Orleans and Troyes. This enabled Charles VII to be
crowned as king in Reims in 1429. Captured near Compiegne the following
year, she was sold to the English and placed on trial for heresy and witchcraft.
Professors at the University of Paris supported Bishop Pierre Cauchon of
Beauvis, the judge at her trial; Cardinal Henry Beaufort of Winchester,
England, participated in the questioning of Joan in prison. In the end, she was
condemned for wearing men’s clothes. The English resented France’s military
success--- to which Joan contributed.
In 1431, she was burned at the stake in Rouen, and her ashes were scattered
along the Seine River. A second church trial 25 years later nullified the earlier
verdict, which was reached under political pressure.
Remembered by the most people for her military exploits, Joan had a great
love for the sacraments, which strengthened her compassion toward the poor.
Popular devotion to her increased greatly in nineteenth century in France and
later among French soldiers during World War I. Theologian George Tavard
wrote that her life “offers a perfect example of the conjunction of
contemplation and action” because her spiritual insight showa that there
should be a “unity of heaven and earth.”
Joan of Arc has been the subject of many books, plays, operas, and movies.