My co-blogger at CatholicVote, Stephen Kokx, links to an AP story about Veep Biden who apparently has little concern for blurring the line between church and state. From the AP story:
Vice President Joe Biden wants pastors, rabbis and nuns to tell their flocks that enacting gun control is the moral thing to do…
Biden met for two-and-a-half hours Monday with more than a dozen leaders from various faith communities — Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh, to name a few. Both Biden and the faith leaders encouraged each other not to give up on what has been an arduous and thus far fruitless effort by Biden and President Barack Obama to pass new gun laws in the wake of December’s schoolhouse shooting in Connecticut.
From Stephen’s post:
While I have no problem with the administration conversing with religious leaders, the fact that the media isn’t up in arms about this should send a chill down your spine. Why? Because the White House is directing faith leaders to preach about politics from the pulpit!… Wasn’t this mix of faith and politics precisely what prompted the media to lash out at Catholic priests who were telling “their flocks” that the HHS mandate was morally wrong? Weren’t pastors who reminded their congregations that abortion and same-sex marriage are offensive to God during the 2012 presidential election accused of preaching politics from the pulpit?
We can let some walls of separation crumble a bit if we need the votes. Pic by Son of Groucho
The AP story mentions Jewish and evangelical leaders in the meeting, but conspicuously no Catholic names are dropped, save for someone from Network. Network bills itself as a “national Catholic social justice lobby;” though under it’s website’s section on Issues, there is no mention of abortion. In the section on healthcare, while the group claims that there are problems with Obamacare, none of the problems listed include anything about abortion or contraception.
So, what seems likely is that the Veep chose to speak to religious leaders who politically point in one direction. Unsurprising, but unfortunate.
Presumably, if a Catholic prelate were to let slip that V.P. Biden may want to examine his conscience before approaching to receive Communion in light of his continued public support of abortion rights and contraception, said prelate would receive a round scolding from the media.
All the more do our politicians, and the religious leaders who hold them to account on all the important issues of the day, need our prayers.