January 17, 2003 6:05 AM

So much for the separation of Church & State

Vatican calls Catholic politicians into line

As if any further proof was needed to demonstrate the narrow-minded inflexibility of the Vatican, now they are expecting Catholic politicians to rigidly toe their dogmatic line. Never mind that the Catholic politicians the Vatican is presuming to demand fealty from don't represent the Vatican.

The instructions were contained in new guidelines, which the Vatican said it was publishing now because recent "unsettling" scientific advances, such as embryo research, and social changes had made it necessary to clarify the Church's position again.

The document, called "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life," also turned the screws on Catholic publications, saying they could not put forward different views for the sake of pluralism.

The guidelines, which reaffirm traditional Church teachings, said Catholic politicians had to be reminded of them because of confusion that developed over Catholic doctrine.

The 17-page document said Catholics in political life "cannot compromise" in the name of tolerance, pluralism or freedom of choice when making or supporting legislation.

"Democracy must be based on the true and solid foundation of non-negotiable ethical principles, which are the underpinning of life in society," said the document by the Vatican's doctrinal department, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them," it said.

Perhaps the question that needs to be answered here is whether a politician's responsibility is to the Catholic Church first and his or her constituents second, or vice versa. The answer should be self-evident, unless you're a member of the Catholic hierarchy.

Are we going to see politicians regularly evaluated by the Church for ideological purity? What happens if the Vatican deems a politician insufficiently loyal to Church doctrine? Are we going to see Catholic politicians excommunicated if they fail the Vatican's litmus test?

This all sounds a little too much like the death rattle from an expiring empire. How long before the Vatican yells "FIRE", and no one so much as grabs a garden hose? Perhaps if the Church spent as much time weeding out sexually deviant priests as it does worrying about ideological purity, I could take them seriously. In the final analysis, this merely demonstrates that the Emperor really doesn't have any clothes on....

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 17, 2003 6:05 AM.

And it is.... was the previous entry in this blog.

Such a tease. And what an idiot. is the next entry in this blog.

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