There is a serious controversy over the proposal to build a mosque on Park Place in lower Manhattan. The furor stems from the fact that there are strong feelings about having an Islamic house of worship so close to Ground Zero. Efforts are being made to have the City government, through the Landmarks Commission, prevent the establishment of this mosque.
I did not lose a loved on on September 11, so I cannot begin to put myself in the shoes of those who did, and who still feel the loss and the attendant anger. And there are certainly legitimate concerns that some religious institutions are used as a means of spreading violent propaganda. But an important principle of religious liberty is at stake here, and we must be very careful about how we proceed.
In this instance, it actually helps to have a long memory.
The proposed mosque is right around the corner from the oldest parish in New York, St. Peter’s Church. The first St. Peter’s was built in 1786. It’s not that there were no Catholics here before that. Prior to the American Revolution, Catholics in New York were subject to severe penal laws that restricted their freedom to worship. Indeed, Catholic priests were not permitted to even be in the colony of New York, subject to criminal penalties. Fortunately, beginning in 1777 the Legislature repealed these unjust laws, and Catholics began to enjoy religious liberty in our state. Bigotry and hostility against Catholics continued for many years, including threats in the 1840’s to burn down our churches, and the infamous prejudice against Irish immigrants.
In my ancestral homeland of Ireland, things were even worse. There were very rigorous penal laws against Catholics into the Nineteenth Century. My Catholic ancestors were prohibited from owning property or serving in public office, or to publicly observe religious holidays. Bishops and religious orders were forbidden from being present in Ireland, and the Church could not even establish religious schools. Catholic emancipation came slowly and grudgingly, and the lingering effects of that oppressive legal regime lasted into the Twentieth Century. Fortunately, the Catholic roots of Ireland are deep and hardy, and they survived these efforts to suppress our Church.
The upshot of this history is that we Catholics should be very, very dubious about attempts to have the government restrict the ability of religious groups to establish their houses of worship, and otherwise to exercise their religious freedom — no matter how unpopular the group might be. We defend our religious liberty very vigorously, and we should be equally clear that all other religions enjoy the same freedoms that we do.
Our Holy Father has made religious liberty a significant feature of his advocacy efforts, particularly in countries where the Church is not free. It was a major theme of his address to the United Nations during his pastoral visit to New York in 2008. Indeed, the Holy Father has chosen for the upcoming World Day of Peace 2011 the theme “Freedom of Religion, Path to Peace”.
This is a very difficult issue for us in New York, especially for those who were devastated by the evil acts of September 11. But in defending our liberty, particularly from fear and violence, we cannot sacrifice the religious freedom of anyone.
Tags: Downtown Mosque, Religious Liberty
