Hours after Father Jacques Hamel’s throat was slit by Islamic militants in his parish church in Normandy, France, on July 26, I was in a packed Irish bar in Krakow’s main square with the archbishop of Baltimore, William E. Lori. We began with a prayer for the repose of this martyr’s soul as we commenced with a scheduled conversation about religious liberty sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, in conjunction with the pope’s arrival in Krakow for World Youth Day.

The military police guarding us was a clear sign of the times.

As we discussed the recent narrowing of religious liberty in America, we were reminded of the luxury we still have, relative to some other places in the world. We sat in Poland, where not too many decades ago, such discussions would not have been guarded by the military police, but shut down. These ideas stress the importance of safeguarding freedom and insisting on it, especially at a time of increased incoherence in our politics and culture.

The situations in Iraq and Syria, as well as the still lingering example of the former communist bloc in Eastern Europe, Archbishop Lori said, “Help us see what a society without religious freedom is like.”

“Without religious freedom, society becomes a hard place, an unmerciful place, an intolerant place, where no one and nothing stands between the power of the state on the one hand, and the individual conscience on the other,” he continued. When it comes to religious liberty, we’re talking about an invitation “to search for God … to fulfill our destiny … to be friends with God,” Lori said, offering: “This is what brings us real joy and real freedom.”

The next day, we joined up again, this time for a panel discussion to a large arena of English speakers. I’d safely wager most of them to be under 23, most American. They gave one of the panelists, Archbishop Bashar Warda from Erbil in Iraq, a series of standing ovations. He’s helped people who fled their homes in Mosul when ISIS came to clear the place of Christians, and has seen the ruthless brutality of the ISIS anti-Christian campaign firsthand.

Instead of downplaying threats at home, these realities should increase our conviction. It was one of the most encouraging experiences of this year, to see these young people who seem to recognize so clearly the necessity of Christians and others willing to give their all for their ideals, beliefs and principles, and how crucial such people are to the functioning of civil society.

More than an ocean away from his country’s disastrous presidential campaign, Lori emphasized, “The struggle to defend religious freedom is not about the culture wars. It’s not about partisan politics. It’s not about being a Democrat or a Republican. It’s about defending our common humanity and our common good. It’s about society that is just and peaceful and good.”

Father Hamel reportedly died saying, “Go away, Satan.” While people fight over party loyalties and the power of the Supreme Court, Hamel’s memory prompts a reflection that there is more at work and more at stake than elections and laws. There’s a darkness clouding what could be beautiful times, if we lived more out of gratitude than outrage, where the clearest example would be a life lived coherently, with joy. Father Hamel died conducting Mass. His life and death are reminders that we’re made for more than we often settle for. Religious freedom does light the path, regardless of, in loving contrast to, any otherwise suffocating cloud covering our eyes and hearts.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. She can be contacted at [email protected].

COPYRIGHT 2016 United Feature Syndicate