Canada: Pope scolds Canada

The Pope on friday lashed out at Canada for policies on same-sex marriage and abortion. This is anything but new from a Pope who has shown his career as focusing on 'family values'. He stated that "Such laws, ... are the result of 'the exclusion of God from the public sphere.'"[1]

I say yes, it is part of the exclusion of traditional Catholicism from the public sphere. I also say this is how it should be. The Canadian state is the collection of many groups. Yes, Catholics make up a significant portion of the country, but that doesn't mean that they should dominate the rest or that all are 'traditionalists'. There are progressive Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Agnostics, Athiests, Pagans, Indigenous Religions, and others that make up Canada. There is no reason that Catholicism should be intertwined with the state. When religion is mixed with states it ruins not just the state, but also the religion. People should be able to practice their religion without dealing with a state where someone else's religion is intertwined.