Replies

I expect the Church to comment on moral issues; however, I disagree with the confrontational way in which this was handled. Catholic bishops should not be getting into a public feud with a U.S. presidential candidate during a very hotly contested campaign. To be perfectly fair, however, I don't think that Ratzinger realized how badly his letter would be received in the U.S. and how much it would have damaged the American church.

As for mixing politics and religion in general, I'll provide an example that'll better illuminate my feelings on the issue. When I was in college,one of the priests associated with the local Catholic church was very anti-war and anti-Israel and liked to incorporate both topics into his weekly sermons. I remember one in particular during the Iraq war in which he called U.S. soldiers assassins; it made me so upset that I walked out of Church. Since as a conservative I don't want to hear those types of sermons on a weekly basis, I can empathize with liberals who might not want to be lectured about abortion every time they go to Church.