Americans are particularly aware of the importance of freedom and the freedoms they have enjoyed, said Father John Echert, pastor of St. Augustine and Holy Trinity in South St. Paul.
“And as Catholics, we say freedom isn’t simply the ability to do whatever we choose, but the freedom to live as God intended us to live,” he said. “And it’s very much integral and built right into our Constitution.”
With Religious Freedom Week celebrated June 22-29 and Independence Day approaching, Father Echert, who has served more than 30 years as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss religious freedom. Father Echert previously has served as a professor of sacred Scripture at the University of St. Thomas and The St. Paul Seminary, both in St. Paul, specializing in New Testament studies.
Religious Freedom Week is an observance initiated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Religious freedom is guaranteed as a constitutional right, and the government shall not establish a particular religion to be the religion of the people, and shall not impede or prohibit the free exercise of religion, Father Echert said.
“We’ve held that to be very dear to us, and those who serve in the military, as I have, and those who are sworn in to public office, we swear an oath that we will defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States, and from enemies both domestic and abroad,” he said. “And sadly, some of the freedoms that we have enjoyed and that are guaranteed in our Constitution are under attack, especially, it seems, in the last several years.”
Examples include the Affordable Care Act, Father Echert sad, which tried to force religious institutions to provide contraceptives and abortifacients through insurance.
“Even the Little Sisters of the Poor ended up in the Supreme Court,” he said, and one of his parishioners ended up in federal court, where Father Echert accompanied him through court hearings.
“They tried to make it out that the so-called ‘right’ of a woman to have an abortifacient to murder her child preempted the religious right of the individual to not provide that for her, which is ludicrous,” he said.
Father Echert also recalled the time during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders when churches were required to limit attendance at Mass to 10, including the priests, while shopping malls had no such restrictions. Minnesota’s bishops worked with Gov. Tim Walz to expand attendance caps for worship at that time.
The restrictions were a clear infringement of religious rights “to declare us so non-essential,” Father Echert said, as he thanked the bishops “who stood up to that and won.”
To hear the full interview, tune in 9 p.m. July 1 to Relevant Radio 1330 AM for the “Practicing Catholic” show, which repeats at 1 p.m. July 2 and 2 p.m. July 3. For information on related issues discussed on this episode, Conley suggests listeners access the website for the Minnesota Catholic Conference at mncatholic.org and consider joining its Catholic Advocacy Network.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Alan and Joanne Foley of Early Catholic Family Life, who share ideas on introducing and keeping faith at the center of a home, especially for families with young children; and Katie Anderson, communications coordinator at St. Michael and St. Mary in Stillwater, with Will Peterson of Modern Catholic Pilgrimage, who describe a pilgrimage taking place in the archdiocese in honor of Blessed Solanus Casey’s feast day July 30.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
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