Religious freedom synod's signature issue [John Allen]

[Catholic_Press]

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome

It’s only day one of the Oct. 10-24 Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, but already its signature issue has come into focus: Religious freedom, seen as the cornerstone of a healthy democratic society, and as a universal cause rather than special pleading for the region’s embattled Christian minority.

Freedom of conscience is “not so much a right to be claimed for Christians,” said Patriarch Antonios Naguib of the Egyptian Coptic church this morning. Instead, he said, it’s a “universal right, which Christians and Muslims defend together for the common good.”

“We must emerge from a logic in defence of the rights of Christians only, and engage in the defence of the rights of all,” Naguib said.

The heart of that effort, the Coptic patriarch suggested, is advocacy of a “positive laicity” of the state, which makes a clear distinction between religion and politics. He called the rise of political Islam across the Middle East “a threat which we must face together” – by which he meant not just the divided Christians of the region, but also Muslims and Jews.

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