Pelosi Violates Mythical Church/State Wall

(AP Photo) This whole idea of a Wall of Separation between Church and State is malarkey, especially in the way it is understood to mean "religion has no place in government" - but let's pretend for a moment that it really is something enshrined (though mysteriously not mentioned) in the Constitution.

Why is it that so many politicians gnash their teeth and wring their hands and invoke this Wall when religious people dare to exercise any influence on the political process (especially in an organized way) but then can be so glib about violating the wall in the other direction? Witness the recent spectacle of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waxing theological on Meet the Press, and clarifying for the audience why it is that the Catholic Church really has had no consistent position on abortion.

Whoa! Hold the pontificatin', ma'am. The Church has a whole posse of bishops and cardinals and even a Pope to handle these things, and we don't cotton to politicians and gub'ment lackeys taking Church Law into their own hands. You're outside your jurisdiction.

But this wall, in the minds of many like Ms. Pelosi, isn't like a wall between rooms in a house, or even a wall between two farms or two countries. It is increasingly the wall of a prison camp or a ghetto. The guards can come and go and do what they like, but the inmates must be contained. So Ms. Pelosi sees nothing inconsistent in her behavior. She was only speaking to the inmates, some of whom are confused and in need of her wisdom and instruction.

Fortunately, some of our good bishops have begun to correct Ms. Pelosi, as the formidable Amy Welborn documents.

Comments

[Sleeping Beastly]

You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard from atheists that religious people should just keep their beliefs to themselves and out of the public sphere. They don't mind that we have free speech, as long as we don't use it to talk about our religion. They don't mind that we have the right to vote, as long as we don't vote in accordance with our religious views. And they don't mind that we have the right to free assembly, as long as we don't assemble where they can see us.

[BobCatholic]

What we need is a real wall of separation of Mirror and State.

The minute a politician ego-trips, we can invoke the wall against them.