CBCP official: Religious freedom needs trust, not just laws

Monsignor Bernardo Pantin, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said religious freedom requires trust between different faith groups rather than just legal protections.

Speaking at the 33rd Annual International Law and Religion Symposium at Brigham Young University in Utah, Pantin noted that while laws can protect religious practices and prevent discrimination, they cannot build trust alone. He stated that trust grows through dialogue, friendship, hospitality, shared service, and repeated encounters.

Pantin argued that lasting religious freedom involves protecting people of various beliefs, acknowledging historical wounds, and confronting prejudice. He added that religious freedom gains credibility when people defend the rights of others as faithfully as they defend their own.