Hillary Clinton recently demonstrated a warped view of religious freedom. While speaking at the Sixth Annual Women in the World Summit, Mrs. Clinton clearly stated: “Rights have to exist in practice – not just on paper,” and “Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will… And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

These dangerous comments are not taken out of context; they are not sound bites or misquotes. They are shockingly true. For Mrs. Clinton, the moral teachings of the Catholic Church (and of so many other religious groups and of individuals) are nothing more than cultural biases that must be destroyed. In this more enlightened age, religious belief (and if pushed, one might speculate if the very concept of the Divine would be part of what must be ultimately rejected) must be put aside so that humanity can fully live up to its potential, unencumbered by these archaic concepts like natural law, objective truth, and moral correctness.

What would be the consequences for an institution, like the Roman Catholic Church under a Hillary Clinton presidency if we fail to fall in line with her agenda and refuse on the grounds that abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage are all blatantly against the natural law, eternal law and divine law?

It might be wise for us to read again the words of “Dignitatis Humanae,” the Second Vatican Council’s Document on Religious Freedom: “This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.”

We have much to pray for in the next few months as the presidential campaign season progresses, most especially for an “evolution of conscience” for Mrs. Clinton and other candidates on religious freedom. We call on the intercession of St. Thomas More for his heavenly guidance on this issue.