Denver, Colo., May 6, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Every election year, critics try to silence Catholics by insisting on the necessity to separate Church and state, but this argument is “empty and often dishonest,” said Archbishop Charles Chaput in his last weekly column in the Denver Catholic Register.
The Church, as part of her mission, has always spoken on the moral issues that shape public and political debates, said Archbishop Chaput. In addition, “religious witness has always played an active role in American political life,” he underlined.
The archbishop said while it is not the Church’s place to endorse specific candidates or political parties, the Church has “the duty and the constitutional right to speak forcefully about social, economic and political issues in the light of Jesus Christ, and to guide Catholics by her teaching.”
The archbishop pointed out that “the most ardent supporters of separating Church and state are very happy to accept the Church's help – and often her leadership – in serving the poor, the sick, the hungry, the mentally and physically handicapped, the homeless, the migrant worker and inner-city children.