Error has no rights

Last updated

"Error has no rights" (Latin : Error non habet ius [1] [2] ) is a historical Catholic and traditionalist Catholic principle. It asserts that it is the responsibility of governments to suppress non-Catholic religions as they do not have a right to express publicly any religion outside of Catholicism which should be the only religion allowed by the State, but had the right to privately profess and practice any religion. Alternatively, it asserts that while non-Catholics had civil or political rights, there is no theological toleration for such religious beliefs. [3] [4] It was still the official position of the Catholic Church in the 1950s, and was repudiated [5] [6] or superseded [7] in the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965 by Dignitatis humanae . It is also argued, based on the interpretation that the moral right to error is distinct from the legal right, that this principle was not superseded by Dignitatis Humanae. [8]

Contents

Principle

This principle states that non-Roman Catholics must not have any civil or political rights and do not have the right to express publicly any religion outside of Roman Catholicism, however they had the right to privately profess and practice any religion; moreover, this principle states that Roman Catholicism should be the only religion allowed by the State. [9] [10] [11]

It was also argued that the principle meant that although error had no rights, people in error had rights. [12] [4] In this interpretation, the state only suppresses those errors which are a danger to public safety rather all things it identifies as errors. [13] It is also suggested that it was a rejection of theological [3] or moral right rather than a legal right. [14]

Catholic theology prior to Vatican II held that the ideal was a confessional state unified with the Catholic Church, with the reasoning that the Catholic Church's revealed truth would lead to "perfect justice", and if the state allowed error to be expressed, it would detract from this. [6] The underpinning of this preference for an absolutist confessional state was the view that error had no rights, and that non-Catholics could or should be persecuted. [6] [15] [16] According to this traditional view, people who were not members of the Catholic Church did not deserve any civil and political rights because they were deemed to be in error. [10]

To put it simply, this principle flowed "from a whole series of theological and political premises: that individuals are obligated to embrace religious truth; that Catholicism is the one true religion; that religious liberty is to be understood as an empowerment, as the moral right of individuals to profess and practice their beliefs; that 'total care' of the common good [...] is committed to the state; that religious truth is an integral element of this good; and that the state's total care for the common good thus encompasses the care of religion". [11]

History

For centuries, the Catholic Church maintained close connection to the State and used state coercion (such as the Inquisition) to punish people whom they deemed to be heretics. [17] In practice, while often persecuted, non-Catholics in Catholic-majority countries were sometimes tolerated, often either because of the personal sensitivities by members of the clergy, or out of hope of converting people to Catholicism. [6]

In 1832, Pope Gregory XVI released the encyclical Mirari vos , rejecting freedom of the press, religious liberty, and separation of church and state as based on indifferentism. Liberty of conscience, Gregory wrote, was "a pestilence more deadly to the state than any other". [18] The arguments condemning freedom of religion were reiterated by Pius IX in his 1864 encyclical Quanta cura and the attached Syllabus of Errors . [15]

The "error has no rights" principle was still the official position of the Catholic Church in the 1950s. [9] At the time, the implementation of the "error has not rights" principle made it so that in Latin America and Southern Europe, where Catholics had power, Protestants suffered religious persecutions as they had no rights due to their religious choice. [19]

Superseding

The American Catholic theologian John Courtney Murray worked throughout the 1950s to reconcile Catholic teachings with religious pluralism and democracy. His ideas encountered significant resistance from more traditional-minded Catholics, but were supported by bishop Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, at Vatican II. John Courtney Murray's ideas were eventually included in the Vatican II reforms as the Declaration on Religious Liberty , a.k.a. Dignitatis humanae (1965). [9] [5] [7] According to the new view, people do have rights even if they are considered in error. [7] "[ Joseph C. Fenton's] most important public controversy was with the Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray over the latter's unorthodox interpretation of church teaching on church-state relations. Murray's dissenting position was adopted in the Declaration of Religious Freedom at Vatican Council II in 1964, and Fenton's positions have been eclipsed". [20]

Dignitatis humanae keeps the theological premises of the "error has no rights" principle, but "implicitly modifies the political theory underlying it. To begin with, it distinguishes between the common good in toto and that 'component' of this good which is entrusted in a 'special' manner to the state, affirming that the care of the common good devolves not upon the state alone, but 'upon the people as a whole, upon social groups, upon government, and upon the Church and other religious communities ... in the manner proper to each'. Secondly, it distinguishes between the moral and juridical dimensions of religious liberty, between the question of our obligations toward religious truth, and the question of the role of the state in enforcing these obligations. Finally, it brings into play the whole subject of the implications of our dignity as persons—as beings who possess intelligence and freedom—for the pursuit of religious truth and ordering of human social life". [11]

After Vatican II, some Catholic leaders such as Cardinal Józef Glemp and part of the Spanish Church hierarchy still sympathized with the older "error has no rights" approach. However, they realized that it was inconsistent with developments in the world at large and therefore supported counter-proselytization rather than legal restrictions on non-Catholic religions. [21] Traditionalist Catholics such as Society of St. Pius X have rejected the Vatican II reforms, especially their teaching on religious liberty. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious pluralism</span> Stance of supporting peaceful coexistence and diversity of spiritual belief

Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Vatican Council</span> Roman Catholic council (1962–1965)

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II, was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for four periods, each lasting between 8 and 12 weeks, in the autumn of each of the four years 1962 to 1965. Preparation for the council took three years, from the summer of 1959 to the autumn of 1962. The council was opened on 11 October 1962 by John XXIII, and was closed on 8 December 1965 by Paul VI.

Dignitatis humanae is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights of the human person and the constitutional order of society", Dignitatis humanae spells out the church's support for the protection of religious liberty. It set the ground rules by which the church would relate to secular states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion</span> Human right to practice, or not, a religion without conflict from governing powers

Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the right not to profess any religion or belief or "not to practise a religion".

The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular state and to disestablishment, the changing of an existing, formal relationship between the church and the state. The concept originated among early Baptists in America. In 1644, Roger Williams, a puritan minister and founder of the state of Rhode Island and The First Baptist Church in America, was the first public official to call for "a wall or hedge of separation" between "the wilderness of the world" and "the garden of the church." Although the concept is older, the exact phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from "wall of separation between Church & State," a term coined by Thomas Jefferson in his 1802 letter to members of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut. The concept was promoted by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integralism</span> Principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and policy

In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within that society makes this possible. Integralism is anti-pluralist, seeking the Catholic faith to be dominant in civil and religious matters. Integralists uphold the 1864 definition of Pope Pius IX in Quanta cura that the religious neutrality of the civil power cannot be embraced as an ideal situation and the doctrine of Leo XIII in Immortale Dei on the religious obligations of states. In December 1965, the Second Vatican Council approved and Pope Paul VI promulgated the document Dignitatis humanae–the Council's "Declaration on Religious Freedom"–which states that it "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ". However, they have simultaneously declared "that the human person has a right to religious freedom," a move that some traditionalist Catholics such as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, have argued is at odds with previous doctrinal pronouncements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire</span> French preacher

Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, OP, often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist, theologian and political activist. He re-established the Dominican Order in post-Revolutionary France. Lacordaire was reputed to be the greatest pulpit orator of the nineteenth century.

The relations between the Catholic Church and the state have been constantly evolving with various forms of government, some of them controversial in retrospect. In its history, the Church has had to deal with various concepts and systems of governance, from the Roman Empire to the medieval divine right of kings, from nineteenth- and twentieth-century concepts of democracy and pluralism to the appearance of left- and right-wing dictatorial regimes. The Second Vatican Council's decree Dignitatis humanae stated that religious freedom is a civil right that should be recognized in constitutional law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious tolerance</span> Allowing or permitting a religion of which one disapproves

Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". Historically, most incidents and writings pertaining to toleration involve the status of minority and dissenting viewpoints in relation to a dominant state religion. However, religion is also sociological, and the practice of toleration has always had a political aspect as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Argentina</span>

The Argentine Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Argentina, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope, the Curia in Rome, and the Argentine Episcopal Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Catholicism</span> Liberal branch within the Catholic Church

Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Roman Catholic Church influenced by classical liberalism and promoting the separation of church and state, freedom of religion in the civic arena, expanded suffrage, and broad-based education. It was influential in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, especially in France. It is largely identified with French political theorists such as Felicité Robert de Lamennais, Henri Lacordaire, and Charles Forbes René de Montalembert influenced, in part, by a similar contemporaneous movement in Belgium.

Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and wealth distribution. CST's foundations are considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical, Rerum novarum, which advocated distributism. Its roots can be traced to Catholic theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo. CST is also derived from the Bible and cultures of the ancient Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Courtney Murray</span> American philosopher

John Courtney Murray was an American Jesuit priest and theologian who was especially known for his efforts to reconcile Catholicism and religious pluralism and particularly focused on the relationship between religious freedom and the institutions of a democratically-structured modern state.

Pacem in terris is a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963, on the rights and obligations of people and their states, as well as proper interstate relations. It emphasizes human dignity and human equality in endorsing women's rights, nuclear nonproliferation and the United Nations.

Freedom of religion in the Philippines is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Philippines.

Freedom of religion in Italy is guaranteed under the 1947 constitution of the Italian Republic. Before that religious toleration was provided for by the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy which in turn derived from the Albertine Statute granted by Carlo Alberto of the Kingdom of Sardinia to his subjects in 1848, the Year of Revolutions.

Libertas ecclesiae is the theory of freedom of religion of ecclesiastical authority of the Catholic Church from secular or the temporal power, that is, the freedom to accomplish its spiritual mission without interference from any secular power.

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965.

The multilateral foreign policy of the Holy See is particularly active on some issues, such as human rights, disarmament, and economic and social development, which are dealt with in international fora.

The religion in Liechtenstein is predominantly Catholic, with a minority of Protestants, non-adherents, and adherents of other religions; it also has a small Muslim population, composed mainly of immigrants from countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey.

References

  1. ↑ "Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kanonistische Abteilung". H. Böhlaus Nacht. October 2, 1978 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Zecha, G.; Weingartner, P. (December 6, 2012). Conscience: An Interdisciplinary View: Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   9789400938212 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 Patrick W. Carey (2004). Orestes A. Brownson: American Religious Weathervane. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 255. ISBN   9780802843005.
  4. 1 2 Daniel Agatino (2018). Mere Catholicism: Faith in the Third Millennium. Sunbury Press. p. 245. ISBN   9781620066850.
  5. 1 2 Cogley, John (8 December 1965). "Freedom of Religion; Vatican Decree Supplants Ancient Doctrine That 'Error Has No Rights'". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Pawlikowski, John T. (1979). "Human Rights in the Roman Catholic Tradition: Some Theological Reflections". Selected Papers from the Annual Meeting (American Society of Christian Ethics): 145–166. doi:10.5840/selpapasce19797. JSTOR   23564895.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Whitehead, Kenneth D. (2012). "Martin Rhonheimer, Changing the World: The Timeliness of Opus Dei". Catholic Social Science Review. 17: 298–301. doi: 10.5840/cssr20121724 .
  8. ↑ Ronald J. Rychlak (2015). American Law from a Catholic Perspective: Through a Clearer Lens. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 101. ISBN   9780810889187.
  9. 1 2 3 Hertzke, Allen D. (2005). "Roman Catholicism and the Faith-based Movement for Global Human Rights". The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 3 (3): 19–24. doi:10.1080/15570274.2005.9523222. S2CID   144921864.
  10. 1 2 Pawlikowski, John T. (1989). "Catholicism and the Public Church: Recent U.S. Developments". The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics. 9: 147–165. doi:10.5840/asce198999. ISSN   0732-4928. JSTOR   23559453.
  11. 1 2 3 Grasso, Kenneth L.; Hunt, Robert P. (2005-12-01). "Dignitatis Humanae and the Catholic Human Rights Revolution". The Review of Faith & International Affairs. 3 (3): 3–10. doi:10.1080/15570274.2005.9523220. ISSN   1557-0274. S2CID   143611920.
  12. ↑ Jay Newman (1991). On Religious Freedom. University of Ottawa Press. ISBN   9780776603087.
  13. ↑ Eugene J. McCarthy (2004). Parting Shots from My Brittle Bow: Reflections on American Politics and Life. Fulcrum Publishing. p. 28. ISBN   9781555915285.
  14. ↑ Michael J. White (1997). Partisan Or Neutral?: The Futility of Public Political Theory. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 148–9. ISBN   9780847684540.
  15. 1 2 FitzPatrick, Paul (2013). "Review of Catholicism and Democracy: An Essay in the History of Political Thought". The Furrow. 64 (10): 573–576. ISSN   0016-3120. JSTOR   24635791.
  16. ↑ Russell, Frederick H. (1975). The Just War in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-0-521-29276-4.
  17. ↑ "Does Inquisition Belong to Religious History?". The American Historical Review. February 2005. doi: 10.1086/ahr/110.1.11 .
  18. ↑ Carey, Patrick W. (1989). "American Catholics and the First Amendment: 1776–1840". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 113 (3): 323–346. ISSN   0031-4587. JSTOR   20092357.
  19. ↑ Kuzmič, Peter (December 2004). "To Suffer with Our Lord: Christian Responses to Religious Persecution". The Brandywine Review of Faith & International Affairs. 2 (3): 35–42. doi:10.1080/15435725.2004.9523192. ISSN   1543-5725. S2CID   145623036.
  20. ↑ White, M. Joseph (1989). "Part III: Roman direction, 1910 to 1962 – 14. Catholic University Reform and Influence". The Diocesan Seminary in the United States: A History from the 1780s to the Present. Univ. of Notre Dame Press. p. 333. ISBN   0-268-00865-5. OCLC   260209337.
  21. ↑ Anderson, John (2003). "Catholicism and democratic consolidation in Spain and Poland". West European Politics. 26 (1): 137–156. doi:10.1080/01402380412331300237. S2CID   153688457.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.