This fall, Catholic clergy, higher ed leaders, women religious, and lay leaders convened at Notre Dame University to discuss the Catholic Church’s unique approach to pluralism and religious liberty as America celebrates its 250th anniversary.
“The Church of itself has always taught this dignity of every human being,” said attendee Sister Nancy Usselmann, director of Pauline Media Studies. “Each person has specific dignity, and to respect them and love them for who they are is such a beautiful gift that the church gives.”
With consideration of Interfaith America’s vision of pluralism, leaders reflected on the effort to uphold religious liberty in our democracy.
“Religious pluralism is a key feature of American society. The only way to get people to embrace the truth of my faith is if they are free to embrace it,” said Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame. “You can’t force faith on anyone. We want to make sure that we promote freedom of religion for everyone, for all faith traditions, and for people who come from no faith tradition at all.”
As the nation looks ahead, Catholic leaders hope the values of their tradition can create unity.
“I think we’re made for this polarizing moment, to be a unifying community and voice that helps democracy move forward. We can not only help heal and bring people together, but we can actually model for our country what it means to serve,” said President of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Donna Carroll in the evening’s panel discussion.
“As America turns 250, what I hope we would think about is our desire to be more Christian, which is the desire to be more loving, more merciful, and more compassionate,” Fr. James Martin said.
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Rachel Crowe
Rachel Crowe, Staff Writer for IA Today, tells compelling stories about interfaith cooperation across diverse communities and supports our narrative programming. She is a graduate of Gettysburg College where she earned a BA in English with a Writing Concentration and a German Studies minor.
