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footnote: Tolerance is the fruit of Enlightenment so reviled by the Church. Erhard put the question first in 1604: 'an diversae religiones in bene constituta republica tolerandae. In 1602 the jurist Burckhardt in his work 'De Autonomia' has answered in the negative the question whether "the freedom to choose among the different religions and faiths... should be granted and allowed by the Christian authorities". It was only when the Peace of Westphalia was signed that the various Christian confessions were equally tolerated. Frederick the Great, who was the first monarch to abolish torture from the very beginning of his reign and who, for his act alone, has earned the title "the Great", is the first authoritative representative of a policy of tolerance. From him comes the famous marginal note: "All religions must be tolerated and the state must only watch that none of them injures the other for, in this matter, each one must find salvation in his own way." In his treatise.. he writes: "False religious zeal is a tyrant that depopulates the provinces; tolerance is a loving mother who cares for them and promotes their prosperity." Tolerance has gradually been enforced since 1848. (163:2) footnote: The Catholic Church abandoned its traditional standpoint in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and accepted the principle of religious freedom. The Vatican Council studied "the sacred tradition and teaching of the Church-- the treasury, from which she brings forth new things ever in harmony with the old", and declared "that the individual has the right to religious liberty. This type of liberty means that every man should be immune from coercion from individuals, from social groups or any human authority: in religious matters no one should be forced to act against his conscience.." (end footnote).
(163:3)
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