Church and State

Today, I saw on the news that the Catholic Church is engaged in a conflict with Rep. Patrick Kennedy over his support of abortion and gay marriage rights. My first reaction was, "the church needs to stay out of government affairs." Then I stopped and thought about it. The church is an organization that represents many voters in the United States. While some of these people disagree with some of the church's actions, many are behind it completely. For this alone, the Catholic Church shouldn't be ignored or silenced in the government. As part of this country, it should have the ability to make its opinion heard. It brings up issues that are of major concern to many citizens, some of whom are not part of the Church. Without this large, generally respected organization, these opinions would have to come from smaller, less organized groups, which would be easier to disregard as extremists. If the public really cares that much about these issues, they can show their support or opposition through other groups, letters to their representatives, or their votes. If it appears that their representatives are caving in or opposing the church against the general will of their constituents, they can be voted out. The church is made up of concerned and not-so-concerned citizens. Those concerned citizens whose beliefs are aligned with those of the church should be allowed to express their opinion. And if those people happen to be priests or other leaders in the church, they still should not be denied the ability to express themselves.