OSV News – Religious freedom “isn’t just a law or a concept,” but “a sacred truth based on the dignity and worth of every person” – and Christians “are not only asked to live our faith, but also to protect others’ right to do the same,” wrote Lucia Corbea, winner of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Religious Liberty Essay Contest 2025.
The 18-year-old Corbea, a student at St. Brendan High School in Miami, took first place in the annual competition, which focused this year on religious freedom amid polarization.
The contest, which was launched three years ago, is sponsored by the USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty, in collaboration with the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Catholic Education and Our Sunday Visitor Institute. Our Sunday Visitor is the parent company of OSV News.
Open to high school juniors and seniors, the competition drew over 100 entries this year, with the top prize a $2,000 scholarship and publication of the winning essay in Our Sunday Visitor. Second- and third-place scholarships of $1,000 and $500 respectively were also awarded.
The entries were judged by an array of professionals from The Catholic University of America, the University of Notre Dame and the nonprofit Religious Freedom Institute, said Aaron Weldon, assistant director for religious liberty at the USCCB’s Secretariat of Justice and Peace.
The contest is part of the USCCB’s annual Religious Freedom Week, which takes place June 22-29. The observance succeeded the USCCB’s “Fortnight for Freedom,” held from 2012-2017.
The week begins on the shared feast day of the observance’s patrons, St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, English martyrs who were executed in 1535 under King Henry VIII for ultimately prioritizing faith in God over personal loyalty to a temporal ruler. This year, however, June 22 was celebrated in the U.S. as the feast of Corpus Christi (the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ).
Religious Freedom Week also spans the feasts of three fellow martyrs: St. John the Baptist (whose birth is commemorated on June 24) and Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29).
The theme for the 2025 observance, “Witnesses to Hope,” builds on the annual report released earlier this year by the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, which highlighted the impact of political polarization on religious freedom. The faithful are encouraged to engage in prayer, education, and public action to uphold religious freedom.
Weldon told OSV News that the essay contest provides crucial insight into the next generation’s views on religious liberty.
“I’m honestly wanting to hear what young people have to say about (it),” he said.
Weldon also clarified that while “we have an intuitive grasp” of what religious freedom means, “there’s still sometimes a misapprehension” that it simply signifies “freedom to choose what I want,” also known as a “freedom of indifference.”
And, he said, an essay submission stands out “when a student is able to show it’s not really about choosing what I want, but it’s the freedom to seek the truth and to follow the truth when I’ve grasped it,” since “the truth imposes an obligation on us.”
Corbea’s essay succeeded in doing so, he said, adding that the piece also included a candid admission that – as Corbea wrote – “there have been times” when Christians have “fallen short” in reflecting “God’s love and goodness.”
“Some people have had negative experiences with Christians who were intolerant or dismissive of their beliefs. In certain moments, actions taken in the name of Christianity have caused harm,” wrote Corbea. “That’s not what Jesus taught us. We are not meant to use God’s words to justify division or disrespect. Instead, we’re meant to live as Jesus did – with compassion, mercy and love for all.”
And, she said, “the Church should guide us on that path,” with its role “even more important” as “the world grows more divided.”
“Rather than creating more separation between communities, the Church should bring people together. All faiths need to unite and look beyond politics and differences,” said Corbea in her essay. “Instead of getting caught up in endless arguments, we should focus on protecting the basic right of every person to worship and live according to their beliefs.”
Amid “a time of deep division and misunderstanding, we need to live out God’s teachings with humility, courage, and love,” wrote Corbea. “Let this generation – and the ones to come – rise above fear, stereotypes and division. Let us walk together in the light of Christ, building a world where freedom is defended through justice and peace for all.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.