Thought for the Day

Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience -- almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good, and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one's deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.

In a word, freedom is ever new.

-- Pope Benedict XVI. Remarks made on the White House Lawn, April 15, 2008.

Qtd. in Liberty: A Magazine of Religious Freedom, a publication of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, September/October 2008 edition.