Pope asks Ecuador to uphold religious liberty in new constitution

Published: 2007-10-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Ecuador gets set to rewrite its constitution, Pope Benedict XVI asked that religious liberty be upheld and the church remain free to fulfill its ministry there. The pope underlined the importance of protecting and promoting the freedom of the Catholic Church in Ecuador in an Oct. 27 address to the nation's new ambassador to the Vatican. "The church's freedom of activity, besides being an inalienable right, is a fundamental condition for carrying out its mission" among the people, even in times of difficulty, the pope told Fausto Cordovez Chiriboga as the Ecuadorean presented his credentials to the Vatican. For that reason, there is no need for "a state which regulates and controls everything, but a state which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need," the pope said quoting from his encyclical, "God Is Love." Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, recently won backing for plans to rewrite the nation's constitution after left-wing delegates won a majority of seats in a Sept. 30 national assembly election. The assembly will rework the constitution and try to fulfill Correa's campaign promises of creating greater political stability.

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