From Deseret News archives:
Romney honored for 'Defense of Religious Liberty'
Romney and his wife, Ann, received the Becket Fund's Canterbury Medal on Thursday. Past recipients include Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel and Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Before dropping out of the race for the White House in February, Romney repeatedly dealt with questions surrounding his beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In December, Romney attempted to confront critics of his faith by delivering a speech on the role of religion in American. He called the speech, which was also delivered in Texas, "the most memorable part of my campaign" in an interview with National Review Online.
At Thursday's award ceremony, Romney repeated a key line from his speech, that "freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.... Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."
He also said he should have talked about atheists in his December speech, saying he missed "an opportunity to clearly assert that non-believers have just as great a stake as believers in defending religious liberty."
In conferring the award, Ann Corkery, a former U.S. diplomat, said, "At every turn, (the Romneys) had to explain their faith to defend the good and venerable teachings of the Mormon Church."
She said the award was given "to those who refuse to compromise their principles and faith, and do so 'resolutely.' If there were additional honors for graciousness in defense of their faith, for modesty and sheer decency, we would be conferring those medals as well on Mitt and Ann Romney."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
Recent comments
Congratulations Mitt! Hope you will be considered as vp so you can...
Anonymous | May 14, 2008 at 1:06 p.m.
Mitt, your infrequent appearances on T.V. are a wellspring of...
Ken Baguley | May 12, 2008 at 9:56 a.m.
Mitt was rejected by Washington insiders and all the others that...
Charles | May 12, 2008 at 7:00 a.m.
- Base opens rift in U.S.-Japan ties 10:19 p.m.
- Did Blackwater try to bribe Iraqis? 10:18 p.m.
- World datelines 10:18 p.m.
- Cal RB Best resting at home 10:12 p.m.
- Long days for BYU interns 10:11 p.m.
- Navajo Code Talkers break silence 10:08 p.m.
- Board reverses on uranium storage 10:06 p.m.
- Elder Huntsman speaks at BYU 10:05 p.m.
- Utah gas up an average of 2 cents 10:05 p.m.
- UCAT post stands despite questions 10:04 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
261 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
148 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
I was in the Hill Cumorah Pageant cast this summer. Two days after Ben's...
Congratulations, ladies, on a great accomplishment! Only your second year...
How to reduce the budget; and not on creative ways to raise more taxes. ...
This should be a swell game. We are waiting for the opportunity to share the...
If a family has a basement apartment do they have to rent a gay couple. There...
Pretty well has this one in the BAG just look over the footage of the Delta...
I know it was a brutal game, but there were positives in the second half....
by the Church. I am extremely disappointed!
Coach Colosimo sounds like he has it figured out as long as he is focused on...
I've always supported Ostertag, even though his hands may be the worst in the...



