>From the above article: “Speaking in fluent French, the pope said afterwards it was "fundamental" to "insist on the distinction between the political realm and that of religion" but also to recognise the role of religion in building an "ethical" society.”
This appears to me to be not only a staking out of territory, but a specific directive to a self serving separation of church and state. Later in the article: “Sarkozy, a twice-divorced lapsed Catholic, defended his vision in presence of the pope, saying it would be "madness" to "deprive ourselves" of religion.” This type of ‘logic’ has always been not only perplexing to me, but troubling to boot. Those who wish to practice religion are in no way ‘deprived’ of it nor are those who do not practice it deprived from practicing it if they wish. The only way either group could be deprived is when some sect specific faction becomes evangelical and imposes its view(s) on all. On Sep 12, 8:09 am, Tony <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here is an excerpt from an article about how Sarkozy wants to > lessen the divide between church and state in France: > > A survey published last year showed 51 percent of the French > consider themselves Catholic, down from 80 percent in the early 1990s. > > Of those, only 10 percent attend mass regularly, the survey in Le > Monde des Religions magazine showed. > > You can read the rest of the article > at:http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Pope_backs_Sarkozy_over_revamp_of_c_0912... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
