Comments on: Christian viewpoints harder to express https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2017/11/16/christian-viewpoints-harder-express/ The New Zealand National Catholic Newspaper Sat, 03 Oct 2020 03:56:09 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6.2 By: G H Challies https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2017/11/16/christian-viewpoints-harder-express/#comment-60271 Sat, 03 Oct 2020 03:56:09 +0000 https://nzcatholic.org.nz/?p=16389#comment-60271 Shannon Roberts, Thank you for your comments. I fully agree with you. Who decides what is hate speech?

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By: william somerville https://nzcatholic.org.nz/2017/11/16/christian-viewpoints-harder-express/#comment-21618 Tue, 28 Aug 2018 01:40:15 +0000 https://nzcatholic.org.nz/?p=16389#comment-21618 I really feel these comments are highly narcissistic and lack a thoughtful, even handed, understanding of what free speech actually means.

I suspect you have a reluctance to accept that the Church is a human organisation, and that it contains as much good, but as much bad, as you will find in any other institution.

However, this truth means society has a right to legislate against religious beliefs that offend against human rights, decency and fairness. It also means individuals are entitled to, and may well be justified, in criticising the Church and its practices, robustly, vigorously harshly and offensively

Neither of these are an attack on freedom of religion and, to believe so, is to either believe the Church can operate as a state within a state outside the disciplines of a free and democratic country or is indulging in an immature and emotional reaction to the rejection of “your” beliefs by a growing section of society

Rees Mogg illustrates this point. His extreme belief that a raped 13 year old girl should be forced to bear the child of their rapist is profoundly offensive to the vast majority of people ,and his view that this religious doctrine should be imposed by law on everyone, regardless of their views, is the very antithesis of freedom of religion.

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