I’m as patriotic as the next guy. I respect the flag and stand for the national anthem. But I’m Catholic; I worship God, not the state.
That’s why when I’m told in church to sing “America, the Beautiful,” I exit the pew and the church as soon as I can. Yeah, there are references to God, but as the title says, we sing to the country, not God. If that’s not downright idolatry, it encourages idolatry. We have enough of that in the secular values of our pseudo-Christian country.I don’t support the “wall of separation between church and state” approach.
I believe simply in proper relations between church and state. I don’t sing “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” during business hours in the federal building. Nor do I stop my car on the Seward Highway at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to pray the rosary. Religious freedom isn’t shoving my religion down your throat.
That concept works both ways. Catholics, worship America all you want. But please respect my religious freedom; don’t shove your idolatry down my throat during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Is that too much to ask?
— Geoff Kennedy
Anchorage
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