Inside the Capitol

There is an untruth circulating rather widely in the public square these days — and gaining speed. We need to derail it. The falsehood that is spreading is that somehow, because the church refuses to conform to the default position of practically everyone in contemporary society — that sexual promiscuity is the only authentic sign-post of human freedom — that she, the church, is waging a war on women.

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The common attitude of many young adults — and many of their parents — today is that individuals should have absolute autonomy or “freedom” over their relationships. We’ve forgotten that “freedom” is not to do what you want but to do what you ought, and this has made us indifferent to the broader social consequences of our actions.

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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld as constitutional the most controversial element of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA): the mandate that all individuals must purchase private health insurance. The court held that the mandate was essentially a tax that Congress could compel citizens to pay.

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Getting your news solely from mainstream media outlets, particularly when it comes to Catholic issues is, shall we say, imprudent.

It’s no secret that mainstream media frame issues in a way that serve ideological biases, particularly in their coverage of the Catholic Church.  A healthy degree of skepticism about what we see in media is in order.

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Blessed John Paul II reminds us in his 1994 “Letter to Families” that for parents to take true responsibility for the education of their children, they must enjoy “true liberty in how their children are to be educated.”

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Most people are familiar with the Scripture verse that we are to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

But what belongs to God, and what is properly within the jurisdiction of the state?

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In any given legislative session in Minnesota, thousands of bills are introduced on every subject imaginable. The Church does not pronounce its view or take a position on the vast majority of bills because it is not within its proper role or competency to offer technical solutions to every social and political challenge.

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Too often today, we hear complaints about the church meddling in politics. We are accused of trying to take the reins of political power and imposing our religion on others. The church, however, does not seek to control the state nor does it wish to impose sectarian beliefs on the public.

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