The separation of church and state is sometimes incorrectly interpreted as meaning that the Church and politics can have no interaction. Actually, this is far from the the truth. The separation means that no organization can be discriminated against, by the government, because of its religious affiliation.
Once this is understood, then one may ask what is the proper role of the Church when it comes to political affairs. Most Catholics recognize that the Church will never recommend that Catholics vote for a specific candidate for election, but will recommend that Catholics vote in favor of or against specific issues.
In order to keep tabs on important issues at both the national and state levels, many dioceses have formed what are called State Catholic Conferences. Their website links can be found at the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors’ site.
These organizations track legislation and promote support for issues that follow general Catholic values, such as protecting life, helping the poor, and promoting justice. It’s worth visiting the site for your state’s conference when complex issues come up for vote. You can also learn a different perspective on state legislation than what is often presented in the secular press.
Whether you are interested in school vouchers, immigration, or healthcare, it might be very worthwhile to visit your state’s site in the near future.
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