Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
March 30, 2009

While the Catholic Church recognizes the religious freedom of all believers and insists that Catholics be able to worship wherever they live, the Vatican does not have clear guidelines for applying the principle of reciprocity to relations with other religions, said the cardinal in charge of interreligious dialogue. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, discussed the legal and theological implications of reciprocity at a conference March 26 in Rome. "Reciprocity is a concept present mostly in the field of international law, particularly in relations between states," the cardinal said, opening the conference on religious freedom and reciprocity at Romes Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. In international relations, reciprocity is an agreement that rights or obligations guaranteed in one state also will be guaranteed in states where an agreement of reciprocity has been reached, he said. One of the clearest cases where reciprocity is lacking, he said, is in the field of religious freedom. For example, while Muslims generally are free to build mosques and worship publicly in predominantly Christian nations, places like Saudi Arabia still refuse to allow Christians to build churches or worship publicly.

 

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Frank Turnbull, S.J., a longtime editor at 'America' who died earlier this week, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life.
James T. KeaneJuly 18, 2025
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Zac Davis
Zac DavisJuly 18, 2025
Trauma-informed spirituality knows better than to promise that prayer will take away all the pain. But it can offer the hope that, even in the midst of pain, there can be moments of feeling whole.
Nicole KirpalaniJuly 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel’s leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire.