To ensure that implementation remains in the full glare of the Church, Catholic Media Services Ltd. (Camsel) – the communications arm of the Church – has prepared three brochures – adaptations of the Archbishop’s columns published in March. The first will be distributed as an insert in the Catholic News on June 7. The other two will follow on consecutive weekends, June 14 and 21.

The first brochure, titled “Our Freedom as Believers”, talks about the concept of freedom and states: The freedom of a human person can be understood:

* negatively – to be free from coercion, not being forced physically or psychologically; or
* positively – to be free to act, to be in possession of oneself, self-sufficient and to be in control of one’s actions.

“No person is totally free,” states the document, “Our freedom is conditioned by heredity, environment and personal history. But we must avoid the implications of determinism, i.e. that we cannot rise above heredity, environment and personal history, so why even try.”

Ultimately freedom is about our life with God, says the Archbishop: “Freedom, properly understood, is directed to a basic and profound relationship with God, who is the ultimate purpose of our lives. It enables us to act in the positive ways.”

Freedom, he says, “deepens under the influence of the Spirit. It helps us to become free in areas of our lives where we must humbly admit, at this point in our lives, that we are not free.”

The document speaks of freedom as a gift to be cherished: “Similar to many valuable gifts, it is delicate. It must be developed, protected and welcomed as a friend in making moral decisions, no matter how complex.

Freedom is so essential in our lives that the issues of merit or blame only become relevant when we have made free choices.”