Church and State

At the risk of heresy, let it be said that setting up the two presidential candidates for religious interrogation by an evangelical minister -- no matter how beloved -- is supremely wrong. It is also un-American. For the past several days, since mega-pastor Rick Warren interviewed Barack Obama and John McCain at his Saddleback Church, most political debate has focused on who won. Was it the nuanced, thoughtful Obama, who may have convinced a few more skeptics that he isn't a Muslim? Or was it the direct, confident McCain, who breezes through town-hall-style meetings the way Obama sinks three-pointers from the back court? The winner, of course, was Warren, who has managed to position himself as political arbiter in a nation founded on the separation of church and state. The loser was America.

The ignorance of the mainstream media (and the "educated" elites from which they are drawn) when it comes to religion is astounding and, by now, unsurprising. But when it is wedded to historical ignorance, it is time to lodge a protest. This morning's Washington Post has an op-ed by Kathleen Parker, a columnist who once won the Baltimore Sun's H.L. Mencken award for "following the tradition of H.L. Mencken in attacking ignorance and stupidity with vividness and originality." Parker objects to the Saddleback Forum and many of the questions asked by Pastor Rick Warren. She goes out of her way to compliment Warren as a person, but then goes for the jugular: "But does it not seem just a little bit odd to have McCain and Obama chatting individually with a preacher in a public forum about their positions on evil and their relationship with Jesus Christ?"

The Bush Administration is reviewing the draft of a regulation that would require hospitals receiving federal funds to respect the religious freedom of health care workers by ensuring that workers do not have to participate in medical procedures that they consider morally objectionable. The regulation is especially concerned with the performance of abortion and the administration of "Plan B" morning after pills, which are considered emergency contraception by some but an abortifacient by others.

A federal appeals court ruling that a Christian university in Colorado can receive state scholarship money is the latest in a string of legal victories for religious schools seeking public dollars. The most recent case involved Colorado Christian University, a college of 2,000 students in suburban Denver where most students must attend chapel weekly and sign a promise to emulate the life of Jesus and biblical teachings. Colorado had allowed students to use their scholarships at Methodist and Roman Catholic universities in the state, but not at a Buddhist university or at Colorado Christian, which is nondenominational.

Pope Benedict XVI urged world leaders from the Group of Eight to put the needs of the poor and weak at the forefront of their discussions. The pope's appeal came the day before leaders of the world's most industrialized nations began their annual meeting, held this year July 7-9 in Toyako, Japan. Talks this year were to focus on the rising costs of food and fuel, the world economy, development in Africa and global warming, as well as establishing a framework for fair greenhouse gas emissions targets. The pope said he was adding his voice to the "urgent appeal" set forth by the presidents of bishops' conferences associated with the G-8.

Leaders of the G8 nations who will meet next month in Japan should commit to reducing global poverty and addressing worldwide climate change, say the presidents of each nation's Catholic bishops conferences. "Our religious and moral commitment to protect human life and promote human dignity moves us to be particularly concerned for the poorest and most vulnerable members of the human family, especially those in developing countries," the prelates wrote in a joint letter. The bishops called upon the presidents of the convening countries to "reaffirm and build upon the substantial commitments" made at summits in 2005 and 2007.

Christians should not label politics as the realm where corruption flourishes, but should engage in politics as an instrument for building up a society worthy of man, said a Vatican official. "Politics is a serious issue for Christians," he said, because it is "an essential place and fundamental instrument to build a society worthy of man." Cardinal Martino acknowledged that there are two extremes that should be avoided: that of considering politics as a cure-all and that of rejecting them wholeheartedly as a negative reality. Christians, he said, are called to establish a "balanced relationship with politics."

In time for the summer holidays, the Vatican urged tourists to pack less luggage, leave the car at home and have a greener vacation. Tourists have to choose whether they are "for or against the planet," said the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. They can "contribute toward the preservation of life on our planet and slow down the process of climate change" or they can pursue "a kind of insane narcissism" that selfishly ignores recognizing the earth "is at risk of destruction."

Hurricane Katrina showed the State of Alabama that churches and faith-based groups know their stuff when it comes to disaster relief. Now, the state is turning to these groups for help with a different kind of disaster—the incarceration boom. The partnership is encouraging churches and community groups to provide one-on-one financial counseling, host parenting classes for prisoners and their spouses, and help ex-prisoners pay their parole fees. But the group will not actually do the work the churches ought to be doing. It is the churches themselves that will be caring for the downtrodden—in this case, prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families.

Christians must strike a fruitful balance in their lives by including both prayer and action, Pope Benedict XVI said. People of faith can "run the risk of reducing themselves to being one-dimensional" either by retreating from the world to dedicate themselves to God and prayer or by totally immersing themselves in the world to help others, the pope said. Instead, believers must look for "a middle ground" by imitating Christ, whose life was dedicated to contemplation and action.