[Mrs. Don-o]

"The Catholic bishops have every bit as much right, representing the countries 64+ million Catholics, to advocate for policies and priorities in line with the Church's values as any political party, union, PAC or pact."

The problem here, my friend, is that the economic policies and priorities favored by the USCCB are not necessaily those most in line with the Church's values, especially with respect to subsidiarity.

To say "we" must feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, etc. is morally right and correct--- if "we" means the charitable giver, the family, the parish, the Diocese, the community organization, Second Harvest, Food Bank, Soup Kitchen, the private philanthropy, Youth in Mission --- of which we have many in the USA.

But to say that "we" means "the State" is a distortion of genuine Catholic social teaching. Like the prophets of Israel and the Fathers of the Church, the papal and conciliar documents almost always refer to "society" having such-and-such obligations. "Society" is not a synonym for "the State." By "society" they mean "all of us acting justly and charitably," not "the State acting coercively."

[Natural Law]

"The problem here, my friend, is that the economic policies and priorities favored by the USCCB are not necessaily those most in line with the Church's values, especially with respect to subsidiarity."

On this we fully agree, but to contend that the bishops do not have a right to speak simply because someone does not like what they are saying is absurd.