Remarks at the Cornerstone-Laying Ceremony for the Interchurch Center, New York City

Mr. Chairman and My friends:

As this cornerstone is placed in the walls of the Interchurch Center, we see in it a special meaning. That cornerstone symbolizes a prime support of our faith--"The Truth" that sets men free. The freedom of a citizen and the freedom of a religious believer are more than intimately related; they are mutually dependent.

These two liberties give life to the heart of our Nation. We are politically free people because each of us is free to express his individual faith. As Washington said in 1793, so we can say today: "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart."

My friends, freedom has been given one definition that has for me a very great appeal, and I believe it has a great appeal for every true American. It is this: freedom is the priceless opportunity for self-discipline. Can you imagine the outrage that would have been expressed by our first President today, had he read in the news dispatches of the bombing of a synagogue?

My friends, in 1958, it seems to me, if we are to live true to the faith that inspired our Founding Fathers, we must think of our self-respect as a nation, and we must not forget to exercise self-discipline.

I think we would all share in the feeling of horror, that any brigand would want to desecrate the holy place of any religion, be it a chapel, a cathedral, a mosque, a church or a synagogue.

If we are believers in the tradition by which we have lived, that freedom of worship is inherent in human liberty, then we will not countenance the desecration of any edifice that symbolizes one of the great faiths.

Freedom of worship is a basic privilege; guaranteed by the Constitution, and it was by deliberate design our Founding Fathers selected the very first article in our Bill of Rights to proclaim the right of each citizen to worship according to his conscience.

In stressing the privileges of freedom, we may not ignore the responsibilities that accompany it. Our first President spoke gratefully of religious liberty, but he spoke also of the moral requirements which religion places on the shoulders of each citizen, singly and together. Washington believed that national morality could not be maintained without a firm foundation of religious principle.

When a President of the United States takes his oath of office, he places his hand upon the Bible. In that ceremony, the Bible symbolizes the solemn obligations which he takes "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." This, for me, is summed up in the final words of that oath: "So help me God." Clearly, civil and religious liberties are mutually reinforcing.

In this land our churches have always been sturdy defenders of the Constitutional and God-given rights of each citizen. They have sought to protect, to broaden and to sustain the historic laws of justice and truth and honor which are the foundations of our community life. May they always do so.

I deeply value the privilege of taking part in this ceremony and of wishing to each of you here present, "Godspeed."