Yeah, the church has such "control" that half the Catholics in Congress support abortion.
This is not about control. If one wants to call himself a Catholic, he cannot do that if his public stances oppose Catholicism.
He is free to leave Catholicism or change his view.
Control over WHAT??? It's MEMBERS???
It is objectionable that the Catholic Church tell its MEMBERS what their moral duties are?
If we followed your principle, the First Amendment means: Churches are forbidden to teach their members anything.
How does shutting down a Church increase the freedom of the American People? Oh, yeah--the freedom to kill babies REQUIRES abolishing all OTHER freedoms, like freedom of speech and freedom of religion.