tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post2119635610207886236..comments2024-03-28T20:30:10.681-04:00Comments on southern orders: EUROPE'S LONG TRADITION (TOO LONG) OF THE MELDING OF CHURCH AND STATE CAN WELL BE A DISASTER FOR THE CHURCH WHEN THE STATE BECOMES MELDED TO SECULARISM OR ISALM OR SOME OTHER RELIGIONFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-43764581787324885362016-03-19T16:38:01.433-04:002016-03-19T16:38:01.433-04:00The US Constitution, strictly speaking, prohibits ...The US Constitution, strictly speaking, prohibits only Congress from establishing an official religion. That restriction was only later applied to the constituent states. Interestingly, the seal of Puerto Rico, a US "free associated state", features very Catholic imagery. Rood Screenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09816036539243214384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-63310259448085670792016-03-19T13:14:08.556-04:002016-03-19T13:14:08.556-04:00The strict separation of Church and State no doubt...The strict separation of Church and State no doubt appealed to the deists and freemasons who framed the US constitution. But it is not, nor has ever been, Catholic teaching. 'Redde autem Caesari quod est Caesaris, et Deo Dei' certainly applies, but the Catholic monarch has a duty towards the Church as well as towards his subjects, and John Paul II taught that the nation-state is not a mere political convenience but is part of the divine plan for mankind.<br /><br />It is a complex issue, often misunderstood in an increasingly secular age. In France, the government owns the church buildings, but ownership in the true sense belongs to the worshippers and the cult practised therein. The Mezquita-Catedral in Cordoba is a remarkable edifice and can be said to be part of a European cultural patrimony. The same applies to the treasures of the Vatican, which no pope can dispose of. The Catholic Church, however, was perfectly within its rights to refuse permission for the Mezquita to be used as a setting for a recent Hollywood movie loosely based on the crusades. John Nolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027156691859606002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-28271474997559728052016-03-19T06:08:57.925-04:002016-03-19T06:08:57.925-04:00Hopefully Cardinals Dolan, Wuerl, O'Malley rea...Hopefully Cardinals Dolan, Wuerl, O'Malley read this post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com