” “"Religious freedom is a right, not just for individuals but also for the family, the religious groups and the Church itself, and the assertion of this right has an impact on the many spheres and circumstances in which the believer happens to be and work". This was confirmed today by the Pope who, in his speech to President Napolitano (Italy), highlighted that the concern of society for the good of the citizens cannot be limited to just a few dimensions of the person, such as physical health, economic wealth, intellectual education or social relations", but must also include the "religious dimension", the "deliberate, free internal acts" of which cannot be "either ordered or prohibited" by any human authority, which on the contrary "is bound to respect and promote this dimension". "No one can be forced to act against their conscience" or "prevented from acting according to their conscience, especially in the religious sphere", warned Benedict XVI in mentioning the Council: "However, it would be reductive he specified to think the right of religious freedom is sufficiently guaranteed when one does not abuse or act on someone’s personal beliefs or limits oneself to respect the manifestation of faith within a place of worship". "The appropriate respect of the right to religious freedom implies concluded the Pope the commitment of civil power to "create favourable conditions to the development of religious life".” “
