Indianapolis, Ind., Jun 21, 2012 / 10:05 am
While defending their freedom in public life, Catholics must also renew the Church spiritually, starting in their own lives, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a June 20 address to journalists.
"Politics and the courts are important. But our religious freedom ultimately depends on the vividness of our own Christian faith – in other words, how deeply we believe it, and how honestly we live it," the archbishop told attendees of the 2012 Catholic Media Conference in downtown Indianapolis.
In his remarks to reporters and other Catholic media professionals, the Philadelphia Church leader observed that religious freedom "is an empty shell if the spiritual core of a people is weak."
"The worst enemies of religious freedom aren't 'out there' among the legion of critics who hate Christ or the Gospel or the Church, or all three. The worst enemies are in here, with us – all of us, clergy, religious and lay – when we live our faith with tepidness, routine and hypocrisy."