Catholic politician after meeting
with Pope Francis: I am salt and light
Pope Francis meets with members of ICLN. (Vatican Media) |
Jeff Fortenberry, US Congressman from Nebraska and member of
the International Catholic Legislators Network, speaks with Vatican News about
the relevance of Pope Francis’ message regarding religious freedom.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis on Wednesday met the International Catholic Legislators
Network (ICLN) who are gathered in Rome for their ninth annual
meeting. Jeff Fortenberry, a member of ICLN and a member of
the US House of Representatives from the state of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional
District, was present at the papal audience. He spoke with Vatican News
afterward regarding the Pope’s message, the US involvement in reconstructing
Christian communities in Iraq, and the importance of religious freedom in
the world.
Meeting with Pope Francis
Mr Fortenberry said the audience with Pope Francis was more
intimate than usual because they met in a small room and the Pope was sitting
near them. “He was funny, and human”, he said, and even joked with them a bit,
apologizing for meeting with them at “breakfast time”. Mr Fortenberry feels
that Pope Francis wanted to convey to them, “this idea of this relativistic
movement, this tsunami of secularism confronting the world, and the opposite
pole being a religious radicalism…both of which are twisted and inconsistent
with the good of all human persons”.
Mr Fortenberry was impressed being in the Vatican and with Pope
Francis, but even more so being with “legislators from all over the world, many
from Africa”. He said that they are in Rome to discuss issues that “ought to
bind all of humanity, namely, human dignity, conscience, religious freedom, the
assault…of secular relativism, and the assault of twisted religious ideology
which manifested itself in the most horrific terms…in ISIS”.
Iraq: ancient religious tapestry
Having recently traveled to northern Iraq at the request of
US Vice President Mike Pence, Mr Fortenberry witnessed first-hand how US aid in
that area is helping to reconstruct what he calls “the ancient area of
religious tapestry” and “a mosaic of religious pluralism” that once existed
there where persons of various religions lived together. He also met some
Christians who have returned to Iraq, including a priest, who had studied in
Rome, and 20 young people. Yet, there are still 400,000 Yazidis living in
“internally displaced” camps, and 3,500 Yazidi women who “are still held in
slavery by Isis”.
Ray of Hope
The ray of hope that Mr Fortenberry sees is that people are
beginning to return to their homes. Christian communities are beginning to be
rebuilt, some with the help of the Knights of Columbus and aid from the US. In
order to prevent another ISIS genocide from occurring again, he said that “a
new type of security footprint” is needed, “that would integrate local,
indigenous people – Christians and Yazidis” – into protective structures. If
this can happen, the Congressman foresees that “the ancient tapestry of
religious pluralism” will be restored.
Unifying idea is human dignity
Religious freedom, Mr Fortenberry said, taken for granted in
the West, is “under such grave assault, particularly there, by people who will
kill in the name of a dark theology, and people who will also die in the name
of their Savior”. He also sees a “deep hunger” on the part of countries
throughout the world to acknowledge religious freedom:
If we believe that all of humanity is united because we
are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we all share similar
desires – our own well-being, the protection of our children, the ability to
advance a bit, to have a safe space for the exercise of good choice, our
conscience whose ultimate manifestation is religious freedom – this not only
appeals to the Catholic world but it appeals to all of humanity.
In a world screaming for meaning, “this is the answer”, he
emphasized. The unifying idea is human dignity “and its ability to express
itself in conscience, and religious freedom, oriented toward what is noble and
higher and good”.
Role of a Catholic legislator
Congressman Fortenberry understands his role as a Catholic
legislator to be that of “light and salt”, “to invite people to the proposition
of what is good, noble, and higher in the midst of real difficulty.”
He takes Pope Francis’ final words, “be encouraged”, back home where that task
awaits him.
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