by Paul Schingle

Created on: March 14, 2009

Let me start off by saying that I am a recovering Catholic. Because it was the way I was raised I think I have the right to say that the Catholic church is maybe one of the most cruel institutions that exists out there. Let me also say that I firmly believe in the U.S. Constitution. The first amendment guarantees freedom of religion and explicitly states there will be no national religion. It is for these reasons that I don't want to see crosses (or menorrahs, for that matter) on public buildings. That said, it has to work both ways. If I want the church out of government (and believe me, I do), then the government has to stay out of the church. Believe it or not, there are some people who think the Catholic church is actually a good thing. And, for that reason, the state has to stay out of it.

I view it this way. If the state had some vested interest in the church, then maybe it would have the right to oversee church finances. Much like, with the bailout, the government now has the right to oversee the banks and other financial institutions it has helped out financially. And, because the banks couldn't regulate themselves like grown-ups, when (if) the banks pay us back what they owe us, we (the government) still have the right to regulate them (the banks). If there is an individual church, or an individual diocese, that is playing hanky-panky with parishioners funds, then the state has the right to audit those books and impose regulations of accountability. But, having the state control the finances of the church, as an entity, potentially opens up a can of worms that we don't want opened.

I said it before, I don't want the church (or the mosque/temple/synagogue) involved in the government, at all. Since this is a two-way track, the state has to stay out of the church. It wouldn't necessarily happen, but if the state gets involved in the church's finances, what is to stop the state from getting involved in any other part of the church. Is the state going to start telling us how to worship? Probably not, but if you allow this invasion, there is really nothing to stop the government from overstepping their bounds. Remember George W. and illegal wiretaps? Letting the government take one liberty generally allows them to take liberty, period.

For some bizarre reason, there are a fairly large number of people who attend, trust, and have faith in the Catholic church. The first amendment allows this, unfettered. And, rightfully so, I might add. A lot of people cling to religion as some sort of safety net. Well, according to the constitution, this is all right. Also, according to the constitution, the state has to keep their noses out of it. If we allow the state to get involved in church finances, what's next?

Is it okay for the state to remove control of parish finances from the Catholic diocese? If we allow the state to control any part of the church, we are sliding down a slippery slope to allowing the government to control the church, as a whole. And, that's just not what our forefathers wanted.

Learn more about this author, Paul Schingle.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.