The Interfaith Center of New York joins you and your family in honoring 250 years of our country’s struggle for a more perfect union–confident that, together, diverse faiths can inspire our country’s civic renewal and keep President George Washington’s promise to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport RI, that the United States will give “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”
Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, received the 2026 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Alongside local faith leaders including The Reverend Carolyn C. Cavaness of Mother Bethel AME Church and Imam Quaiser D. Abdullah, Ph.D. of the Mayor’s Office of Muslim Engagement and Interfaith Philadelphia, our very own Ruth Messinger, Board Co-Chair, was present on behalf of ICNY.
Pope Leo reminded his listeners of ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence. He traced this enlightenment language to its religious roots, stressed that embodying these ideals is still a work in progress, and stated that the “effort to realize this vision is one that must be taken up anew in each generation in the face of ever new challenges.” He elevated the principle of religious freedom and its role in promoting interfaith dialogue, allowing that “interreligious cooperation [promotes] the public good and enrich[es] the debates on the great moral and ethical issues that have faced the nation and shaped the course of its history.”
Inspired by faith leaders like Pope Leo XIV and the thousands of others of courage and conviction across the United States, this July 4th we resolve to do our part in the struggle to reach our country’s highest ideals. We hope that you will join us.
Full Text of Pope Leo’s remarks can be found here. Video address is here, starting at 4 min. and 30 seconds.
