OF CHURCH AND STATE: Adrian Walker

[A.k.a. "You're not the boss of me!" --bitter Eve]

Barbara A. L'Italien isn't all alone, if that is any consolation.

As the Legislature considered an amendment banning gay marriage earlier this year, other Catholic lawmakers heard, in some cases from the pulpit, that perhaps they would not be good influences on the young people of their parishes if they persisted in supporting the right of gay couples to marry.

One lawmaker, who did not want to be identified, told me about going toe-to-toe with a priest over whether the legislator would be welcome at a dinner for a parish youth organizations. It wasn't their first battle over gay marriage. This representative, like many of his colleagues, had taken to sending staff members to attend Mass in his district's parishes, to monitor the beating he was taking from the clergy.

The cleric ultimately backed down; he was counting on the legislator's support to help fight off a possible parish closing. But it had been a painful lesson in how faith and politics can collide.

L'Italien, a representative from Andover, was asked two weeks ago to step down as cantor of the children's choir because of her support for gay marriage. To her credit, she refused. ...

The expectation that lawmakers should slavishly follow the doctrines of any religion or any single constituency doesn't make much sense, really. Too many factors figure into a political decision, and one's public and private positions may well be different. That is especially true on a moral issue that has divided many Catholics. ...

This week, L'Italien was quoted as saying that church should be a sanctuary, apart from her work. She couldn't be more right.

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posted by Eve at 11:36 PM | link

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