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Salt Lake City, Utah, Jul 2, 2019 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York championed the importance of religious freedom at a patriotic-themed gathering in Utah on Sunday, appearing with religious leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We come together as neighbors, we come together as a family, we come together as friends,” Cardinal Dolan said. “See, that gives a counterexample to those who would love to caricature us as these bigoted, hateful, violent people. And we can’t allow that to happen.”

The Cardinal added that religious freedom “is important for all of culture and all of society, not just for people of faith.”

Cardinal Dolan gave the keynote address to a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University UCCU Center in Orem, Utah, on Sunday. The speech was part of America’s Freedom Festival at Provo which is an annual patriotic gathering held around Independence Day to promote American values of faith, freedom, patriotism, and family.

He appeared with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon faith, at Sunday’s event. On Monday Dolan met with church President Russell M. Nelson who presented him a statue of the Christus.

The Cardinal has previously worked with Mormon leaders on matters of religious freedom, faith, marriage and humanitarian efforts, including a 2017 ecumenical meeting in New York City with Mormon and Jewish leaders.

“To have us be able to work together on things that would bless this country,” Cook said, “whether they’re of a faith or no faith at all, has been an incredibly significant thing, as far as we’re concerned.”

Both Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Oscar Solis of the Diocese of Salt Lake City on Sunday emphasized that love of country should go together with love of God.

“We have to remember that patriotism is a biblical virtue,” said Cardinal Dolan, adding that it is important “to see people coming together — especially to see our young people — to show that we’re not alone in our love for God and country.”

“We have to bring God and patriotism together. It’s a great formula for a healthy society,” said Bishop Solis.

“Religious liberty is very essential for us, and that it is defined as the First Amendment in this country, and that is why we need to safeguard and uphold, because this is a precious gift.”

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Washington D.C., Jan 4, 2018 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The State Department on Thursday unveiled its list of countries designated as the worst offenders against religious liberty. Advocates of religious freedom applauded the list, but said that several additional countries should have been added.

The countries of Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were labeled as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) in the State Department’s report. The 10 countries on the CPC list are unchanged from last year.

In addition, Pakistan was placed on a “Special Watch List,” which is a new category below that of Countries of Particular Concern.

A country is labeled as a CPC after it engages in “systemic, ongoing, [and] egregious” violations of religious liberty. The “Special Watch List” is for countries that “engage in or tolerate severe violations” of religious liberty, but not to the extent of a CPC.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a government commission created in 1998 to study religious liberty around the world, praised the inclusion of the 10 CPC counties, but said that several others should have been added.

The commission had recommended that Russia, Vietnam, Syria, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic be added, and that Pakistan should have been included on the list of CPCs, rather than the lower designation of “Special Watch List.”

“The designation of these countries is a key step in ensuring continued U.S. engagement in support of international religious freedom. Although USCIRF agrees with the 10 countries on the State Department’s list, it does not go far enough,” said Daniel Mark, chairman of the commission, in a press release.

Mark said it was a “surprise and disappointment” that Pakistan was not added to the list of CPCs, especially given President Donald Trump’s past criticism of the nation, which has engaged in state-sponsored discrimination against religious minority groups, and has anti-blasphemy laws.

Vietnam was previously designated as a CPC, but was taken off the list about a decade ago, in opposition to USCIRF’s recommendation. The commission has since called for it to be re-added to the list.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) questioned why Vietnam was omitted from the list of CPCs. Royce said Vietnam has regularly violated both religious liberty and other basic human rights, and that it is the United States’ responsibility to call out these violations.

Chairman Royce writes: “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right, yet far too  many people around the world are still persecuted, imprisoned, and killed solely  because of their beliefs. It is our responsibility, as Americans, to speak for those with no voice.”

— Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) January 4, 2018

Russia was also among the countries that the State Department omitted from its list of CPCs. USCIRF had called for it to receive the designation, in part due to an anti-extremism law that has been used to label Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist group, banning them from legally gathering or preaching in the country.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>????RUSSIA notes in this thread. <br>State Dept. doesn't name Russia a <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReligiousFreedom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ReligiousFreedom</a> Country of Particular Concern, even though the US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that designation. <a href=”https://t.co/s9She8I9KD”>https://t.co/s9She8I9KD</a></p>&mdash; Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JasonCalvi/status/948987873843400704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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