Speaking out in defense of religious freedom has been a hallmark of Cardinal Wuerl’s ministry since he became archbishop of Washington in 2006. That year, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle while celebrating the annual Red Mass that seeks God’s blessing on the administration of justice, he told a congregation that included Supreme Court justices and other government leaders that “faith is a cornerstone of the American experience.”
In 2009, then-Archbishop Wuerl helped push open the doors of the reconstructed 1667 Brick Chapel in Historic St. Mary’s City, which stands as a symbol of Maryland’s status as the birthplace of religious freedom in the United States. After the first Catholic Mass was celebrated at St. Clement’s Island in 1634, the early Catholic colonists along with settlers from other faiths helped establish Maryland as a haven for religious liberty, and the colony’s 1649 Toleration Act was a forerunner to the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion.
Noting that the original chapel had been locked in 1704 by order of the royal governor, Archbishop Wuerl said its story highlights the importance of remaining vigilant to threats against religious liberty, the first freedom.
That conviction led Cardinal Wuerl in 2012 to join other religious groups in filing a legal challenge against the HHS mandate that would require Catholic institutions to violate their faith by providing employee health insurance coverage for abortion inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures. That same year, Cardinal Wuerl celebrated a Mass for a standing-room crowd at the National Shrine for the Fortnight for Freedom.
The cardinal has called on people of good will to oppose government efforts that would erode religious freedom and limit the practice of religion to houses of worship, and also to stand in solidarity with Christians around the world, especially in the Middle East, who are facing persecution because of their faith.
In his 2015 pastoral letter, Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, the cardinal wrote, “we must remain true to who we are,” people of prayer who defend their religious freedom to live out their faith through educational, health care and social service ministries that serve the common good of society.
