The Church is a voluntary organization. Why should it not have an hand in the operation of the state? The idea that the leaders of the Church , clerical or lay, are disqualified from participation in public affairs is a radical liberal or a socialist idea. How you can get this from the language of Article VI or from the First Amendment is a mystery to me. Religious people and non-relgious have the same standing: they are citizens of the United States.
I don't know a single Republican that would argue that religious people, leaders or clerics should be banned from participation in public affairs. We ALL encourage it.
However Santorum's own words say he is an advocate for "the church" (read: Institutions) should have a role in the OPERATION of the government.
No, our Founding Fathers put an end to that nonsense over 200 years ago.
Please address that issue.
Exactly. Why should environmentalists, who live it as a way of life as much as any religious person, or communists, or Planned Parenthood, etc, have the option to have a say, but Mormons, Buddhists, Christians, etc. Do not?
They are not so disqualified.
Back in the seventies, you may recall, there were two priests serving in the House, Father Robert F. Drinan, of Massachusetts, and Father Robert J. Cornell, of Wisconsin. Both were Democrats. Both retired from Congress when John Paul II ordered that priests withdraw from electoral politics.
Priests serving in Congress, however, is not the same as the Church having a hand in the operation of the state.
When Father Drinan passed on, the ADL had this to say:
New York, NY, January 29, 2007 … Anti-Defamation League (ADL) leaders, Glen S. Lewy, National Chair and Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, issued the following statement:
The death of Father Robert Drinan is a loss not only to his family, friends, and the Catholic community, but to the Jewish community and, indeed, all Americans and people of good will the world over. He was a unique individual whose devotion to his Catholic teachings led him to speak out for social justice, peace, and respect and understanding.Father Drinan was especially respected and beloved by the Jewish community for his advocacy on behalf of Soviet Jewry, the State of Israel and America's democratic values. In May 2000 he spoke eloquently at an ADL rally in Washington on religious liberty and the importance of maintaining the separation of church and state.
Whether in church, in Congress or in the classroom, Father Drinan was a moral, passionate and compassionate voice for doing the right thing. We will miss his gentle soul, but take comfort that his legacy lives on.