Global Religious Liberty Summit Undermines Catholic Sovereignty
The EWTN News portal (February 3, 2026) reports on the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C., where co-chairs Sam Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett lamented religious repression affecting “over 80% of the world’s population.” The article emphasizes China’s control over Catholic episcopal appointments, transnational repression by authoritarian regimes, and the need for interfaith alliances to combat nihilism. While decrying persecution, the summit promotes a pluralistic vision of religious freedom diametrically opposed to the immutable Catholic doctrine of Christ’s Social Kingship.
Religious Indifferentism Masquerading as Human Rights
The summit’s premise—that all religions merit equal protection under secular law—directly contradicts the Syllabus of Errors (1864), which condemned the notion that “every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true” (Proposition 15). Pius IX further warned that such indifferentism leads states to “place the creed of heretics and all impious sects on the same level as the sanctity of the true Faith” (Encyclical Quanta Cura). By framing religious liberty as a universal human right detached from divine revelation, Brownback and Lantos Swett reduce the Church to a mere NGO begging for tolerance from pagan regimes.
Lantos Swett’s concern over China’s “hostile takeover” of the Catholic Church ignores the deeper heresy: the Vatican II-inspired Ostpolitik that legitimized the Chinese Patriotic Association. As Pius XI declared, “Christ has dominion over all creatures… an empire not only over natural bodies but also over wills” (Encyclical Quas Primas, §18). No earthly power can usurp Christ’s authority over His Church, yet the summit reduces this sacrilege to a bureaucratic dispute rather than a rejection of the Divine Constitution of the Church.
Naturalism Replaces Supernatural Order
The co-chairs propose combating nihilism through interfaith “alliances” and “grassroots movements,” reflecting the modernist heresy condemned by St. Pius X: “There is no revelation as yet definitely ascertained… every religion must be held to have a foundation in truth” (Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, §14). Lantos Swett’s praise for youth seeking “something more meaningful” than nihilism reduces religion to a psychological coping mechanism, ignoring the Church’s mission to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) through conversion, not dialogue.
Brownback’s call to partner with “democracy movements” and “security movements” enshrines the Americanist error condemned by Leo XIII: the belief that “the Church ought to adapt herself to modern civilization” (Encyclical Testem Benevolentiae). True religious freedom, as defined by pre-1958 Magisterium, exists only when states recognize Catholicism as the sole religion “to the exclusion of all other forms of worship” (Pius IX, Syllabus of Errors, Proposition 77).
Omission of Martyrdom and the Primacy of Grace
The summit’s focus on geopolitical alliances and AI threats omits the only solution to persecution: the supernatural grace won by Christ’s Sacrifice. Nowhere do the co-chairs mention prayer, penance, or the Mass—the very weapons that sustained martyrs under Roman emperors and communist tyrants. This silence exposes the movement’s naturalism, treating religious liberty as a policy outcome rather than a fruit of “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5).
Moreover, the article fails to warn that China’s puppet bishops—like all post-conciliar “ordinations”—are likely invalid due to the 1968 Ordo Missae’s destruction of sacramental form. True shepherds would echo St. Cyprian: “Outside the Church there is no salvation” (Epistle 72), not negotiate with persecutors.
Conclusion: A Masonic Distraction
The IRF Summit exemplifies the Masonic strategy to replace Christ’s reign with a globalist “right” to idolatry. As Pope Pius XI taught, “When once men recognize… that Christ has been given all power in heaven and on earth… then at last will many evils be cured” (Quas Primas, §21). Until the summit demands civil leaders “kiss the Son, lest He be angry” (Psalm 2:12), its efforts serve not God, but the Synagogue of Satan.
Source:
International Religious Freedom Summit co-chairs assess current state of global religious liberty (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 03.02.2026