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In faithfulness therefore to the truth of the Gospel, the
Church is following the way of Christ and the apostles when she
recognizes and gives support to the principle of religious freedom as
befitting the dignity of man and as being in accord with divine
revelation. Throughout the ages the Church has kept safe and handed
on the doctrine received from the Master and from the apostles. In
the life of the People of God, as it has made its pilgrim way through
the vicissitudes of human history, there has at times appeared a way of
acting that was hardly in accord with the spirit of the Gospel or even
opposed to it. Nevertheless, the doctrine of the Church that no one
is to be coerced into faith has always stood firm.
Thus the leaven of the Gospel has long been about its quiet work in
the minds of men, and to it is due in great measure the fact that in
the course of time men have come more widely to recognize their dignity
as persons, and the conviction has grown stronger that the person in
society is to be kept free from all manner of coercion in matters
religious.
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