365. Why does everyone have a right to exercise freedom?
(Comp 365) The right to the exercise of freedom belongs to everyone because it is
inseparable from his or her dignity as a human person. Therefore this right must
always be respected, especially in moral and religious matters, and it must be
recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common
good and a just public order.
“In brief”
(CCC 1747)
The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral
matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of man. But the exercise
of freedom does not entail the putative right to say or do anything.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1738) Freedom is exercised in relationships between
human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural
right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other
this duty of respect. The right to the
exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an
inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be
recognized and protected by civil authority within the limits of the common
good and public order (Cf. DH 2 § 7).
Reflection
(CCC 1705) By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of
intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an "outstanding
manifestation of the divine image" (GS 17). (CCC 1730) God created man a
rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and
control his own actions. "God willed that man should be 'left in the hand
of his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and
freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him" (GS 17;
Sir 15:14). Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free
will and is master over his acts (St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 4, 3: PG 7/1, 983).
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