Letter on politics issued

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer has issued a pastoral letter, titled "Religion and Politics 2008," on the role of the church in the political arena.

The text quotes frequently from and urges Catholics to read the U.S. bishops' "Faithful Citizenship," a document revised and reissued Nov. 14.

While church and state "should be independent of each other," Niederauer wrote, "both politicians and religious leaders rightly--and unavoidably--concern themselves with many of the same issues." He cited civil rights and care for the poor and the homeless as common concerns for both church and state.

He wrote that abortion and euthanasia must take a higher priority in decision-making than many other issues. At the same time, he said, it is incorrect to reduce "Catholic moral and social teaching to one or two issues, and refusing to be concerned about a wide range of issues."

As examples, he mentioned racism, torture, unjust immigration policies, hunger, the death penalty and health care.

--Catholic News Service

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