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Holy Cross Abbey

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Independence Day 2022

July 4, 2022 by Fr Joseph

In theory, theocracies should be the ideal way of ordering our political and societal lives. In reality, attempts at setting up a country or nation with God as its head fail, and often end up being oppressive, intolerant, and thereby seriously marring the true face of our loving God. Even God himself seems to have given up on this idea with his reluctant acceptance of the Israelites’ demand for a king and the anointing of King Saul. What has come to be called the “separation of church and state” has been one attempted alternative to theocracy. However, to be fruitful and life-giving, this “separation” between church and state cannot be so complete that neither interacts with the other. That said, the healthy and appropriate interaction between church and state is always going to be a challenge—especially in a multicultural society like our own in which numerous religions and belief systems coexist. Our present situation bears this out all too distressingly. On the one hand, we have our own church which has lost so much credibility in recent years. On the other hand, we have the related (and growing) phenomenon of the so-called “Nones”—the label for those who claim no affiliation with any church or faith tradition. Given this unfortunate situation, is it really surprising that our country is in its present state of turmoil, confusion, violence and disunity? As Christians and Catholics, personal conversion and simultaneous renewal and purification of the Church—that beloved and suffering Body of Christ—are among the chief means we can exert to stem this alarming unraveling of all that has been good and noble in our American society. And so, the question becomes: Will we personally respond to this great challenge? Or will we simply succumb to what many see as the approaching storm?

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