Seville, Spain, May 16, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Apostolic Nuncio in Spain, Archbishop Manuel Monteiro, said this week “man is ontologically, but not morally, free, because he is obligated in conscience to seek out the truth in all its aspects.”
During the 17th Symposium on the History of the Church in Spain and America, the prelate also referred to the dignity of man and woman, as defended and promoted by the Church throughout her history. Human dignity “is increasingly clearer in the conscience of mankind in our time,” he said, and “in order for conscience not to be violated or to suffer violence, it is necessary that it be truthful and in accord with the human person.”
Archbishop Monteiro noted that “the Church does not ask for privileges,” but rather “she desires to enunciate the love of God to mankind and thus build a society in which love and charity reign.” In this sense, he explained that religious liberty is a “natural right” that should translate into a civil right, because it is founded “upon the very dignity of the person.”
In order to lay the foundation of this freedom, he went on, “it is essential to recognize man’s right to seek the truth, to follow his conscience and to accept the free and supernatural character of the act of faith.”
The archbishop warned that in exercising his freedom of religion, man must not forget he is a “created being,” and that “only with a careful and complete humanistic formation can we have people who are willing to serve the Church and society.”