The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune. Religious Liberty 9, President Obama 0. I commend the US Supreme Court - in the Hosanna Tabor US Supreme Court ruling, January 11 - for unanimously ruling that religious bodies can and should set their own standards for hiring ministers, free from government interference. The decision effectively shoots down President Obama's latest attempt to control and suppress religious freedom in America. The separation of church and state prevents government bureaucrats from deciding who will preach and teach any religious faith. Had the government won the case not even the Pope would have been safe from Big Brother! The strength of a nation is not found in the Democratic view which is to increase dependence on government but in the view which champions limited government, religious freedom and personal responsibility. The task of the state is not to consolidate and exercise power but merely to regulate human life in society, creating a balance of freedom and good things that allows each individual to lead a life worthy of man. Its role is to safeguard the rights of each individual and the welfare of all. Failing to limit itself thusly, it posits itself as something absolute. James Madison recognised religious freedom as a fundamental right that precedes the state and which cannot be severely curtailed or denied by it. Put more broadly, and as Pope John Paul II put it, religious freedom is the "first freedom." It is "the premise and guarantee of all freedoms that ensure the common good." President Obama built his election campaign around "The Audacity of hope". "Hope" is a virtue, not an emotional crutch or a political slogan. Real hope is not found in the kind of optimism that demands blind servility to the government but rather in the compassion of hearts and enterprising spirit of citizens. PAUL KOKOSKI Canada, January 12, 2012.