Pope Benedict's Address to the American Bishops

A group of American bishops is meeting this week on their ad limina visit to meet with Pope Benedict. In his address today he made it clear that Catholics have an obligation to involve themselves in the market place, including politics. He also stressed that radical secularism (and the Obama presidency is the epitome of radical secualrism) destroys Christian culture. Here is a segment of the pope's address with my comments in red:

The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public [Catholics, don't just sit behind locked doors in the Church praying, but evangelize and act in the market place]: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square [Note the word "rational." Catholic truth is based on reason and appeals to those seeking truth. Those who don't care about truth will not listen, but truth-seekers will.] The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation. [Don't let the State cow you into silence with the false separation argument. Fight it as the bigotry it is.]

In the light of these considerations, it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. [The greatest threat to the Church in America today is the Obama administration. He wants to suppress the rights of Catholics and Christians to practice their faith in the public square. Fight despite the growing persecution.] The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience. [Catholics are being squeezed out of many occupations, especially health care. Even wedding photographers and caterers face the hobnailed boot of the Obama/Clinton/Sebelius tyranny.] 

Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. [Orthodox Catholic bloggers, take heart. You are part of the "articulate and well-formed Catholic laity" countering the "reductive secularism."] The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country; as essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level. [Get rid of the marshmallow fluff and teach doctrine!] 

In this regard, I would mention with appreciation your efforts to maintain contacts with Catholics involved in political life and to help them understand their personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time: respect for God’s gift of life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of authentic human rights. [Keep the pressure on those pro-abort Catholics!] As the Council noted, and I wished to reiterate during my Pastoral Visit, respect for the just autonomy of the secular sphere must also take into consideration the truth that there is no realm of worldly affairs which can be withdrawn from the Creator and his dominion (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 36). [Obey God over man.] There can be no doubt that a more consistent witness on the part of America’s Catholics to their deepest convictions would make a major contribution to the renewal of society as a whole. [So all you dissident Catholics get with the program. Are you listening, Doug Kmiec et al?]