What is the proper place of the Church in government?

[JuanCarlos]

How far should the Church influence government? This is a question I often ponder and I would like my fellow Catholics’ insight. Should the Church insist the government recognize the Natural Law while distancing Herself or when possible insist on being the state religion?

 

[EasterJoy]

The Church should properly form Catholics, and, being those with their vocations rooted in the secular world, the laity should, to the degree that it is open to them in their country, cooperate in properly forming the government.

It is also the place of the entire Church, heirarchy included, to preach the Gospel, and in doing so to inform the consciences of all mankind.

 

[Genesis315]

As Pope Benedict XVI said in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, they have distinct spheres, but they are always interrelated. The Church should inform the decisions of the state since the state must act according to the truth (Catholic social teaching is a perfect example of this principle in practice). Likewise, the state has the duty to protect the rights of the Church and make sure she can exercise her mission as the Second Vatican Council and past and present Roman Pontiffs have declared.

Leo XIII went into more detail on why this is saying that the state governs the temporal while the Church the spiritual, but both should work together in harmony since both are subject to the same God and also have the same end–the common good of the people entrusted to their care.

Catholicism would not be properly called a state religion because it is supranational (state religions are things like the Church of England or the Church of Russia during certain periods which were essentially cabinets of the state governing body). However, it can be the established religion of a state. However this is not always prudent as it can be scandalous when the state does not operate under Catholic principles. A good non-Catholic example of this is how the Greek Orthodox Church is the official religion of the state of Greece, yet Greece is one of the most secular and immoral states in Europe.

In my opinion, since there are few if any Catholic states, the current concordats fill our needs without us being unequally yolked.

 

[ProVobis]

I think the proper place of the Church in government is to establish itself/herself in a position where its moral leadership is recognized properly, not as ridiculed and undermined as it is today in most countries. Enough said.

 

[elts1956]

The Church should properly form Catholics, and, being those with their vocations rooted in the secular world, the laity should, to the degree that it is open to them in their country, cooperate in properly forming the government.

It is also the place of the entire Church, heirarchy included, to preach the Gospel, and in doing so to inform the consciences of all mankind.

Hello Easter. Just what I think, but you expressed it more eloquently than I could. The Church being the head of government would be a disaster. I think the close association of the Church with secular government in times past caused much turmoil that could have been avoided if people had “rendered unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s”

 

[elts1956]

The Church should properly form Catholics, and, being those with their vocations rooted in the secular world, the laity should, to the degree that it is open to them in their country, cooperate in properly forming the government.

It is also the place of the entire Church, heirarchy included, to preach the Gospel, and in doing so to inform the consciences of all mankind.

I think the proper place of the Church in government is to establish itself/herself in a position where its moral leadership is recognized properly, not as ridiculed and undermined as it is today in most countries. Enough said.

I agree with Easter Joy’s post #2. Many of us have lost the belief in our ability to hold together in a moral stance to make our voices heard. The church has no place in governments. We as individuals do. When we as individuals come together to make our voices heard, we will be heard.

 

[elts1956]

As Pope Benedict XVI said in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, they have distinct spheres, but they are always interrelated. The Church should inform the decisions of the state since the state must act according to the truth (Catholic social teaching is a perfect example of this principle in practice). Likewise, the state has the duty to protect the rights of the Church and make sure she can exercise her mission as the Second Vatican Council and past and present Roman Pontiffs have declared.

Leo XIII went into more detail on why this is saying that the state governs the temporal while the Church the spiritual, but both should work together in harmony since both are subject to the same God and also have the same end–the common good of the people entrusted to their care.

Catholicism would not be properly called a state religion because it is supranational (state religions are things like the Church of England or the Church of Russia during certain periods which were essentially cabinets of the state governing body). However, it can be the established religion of a state. However this is not always prudent as it can be scandalous when the state does not operate under Catholic principles. A good non-Catholic example of this is how the Greek Orthodox Church is the official religion of the state of Greece, yet Greece is one of the most secular and immoral states in Europe.

In my opinion, since there are few if any Catholic states, the current concordats fill our needs without us being unequally yolked.

The secular and spiritual can be interrelated only through individulas upholding what they believe. The secular government can be made of moral, or immoral citizens. it is up to the citizens to support the government through having been educated by the church in Faith and Morals.

 

[bpbasilphx]

The Church should properly form Catholics, and, being those with their vocations rooted in the secular world, the laity should, to the degree that it is open to them in their country, cooperate in properly forming the government.

C. S. Lewis said something similar in MERE CHRISTIANITY.