The freedom to annoy?

A prominent Australian Catholic priest and lawyer is defending the rights of people to assemble during World Youth Day, stating that the Church should not support state laws which restrict civil liberties . He argues that the right of expression outweighs visiting pilgrims' rights to be free from being annoyed.

Father Brennan said the Catholic document on human rights, Pacem In Terris, the 1963 encyclical of Pope John, said the responsibility of all authorities was "to safeguard the inviolable rights of the human person".

"As an Australian Catholic lawyer, I am saddened that the state has seen fit to curtail civil liberties further in this instance than they have for other significant international events hosted in Sydney," he said.

...

Dr John Sweeney, the co-ordinator of research at the Edmund Rice Centre, said Jesus Christ had paid the price for saying what he thought and the right to free speech needed defending.

"It would rather be like Jesus calling for a police escort on Palm Sunday. Obviously, he wouldn't and when Jesus went into Jerusalem people yelled out things the religious leaders in their time didn't like and they rebuked Jesus and he said he couldn't quieten his supporters."

via smh.com.au

Minimizing rights such as the freedom to assemble and speak out is dangerous.