The idea of "separation of church and state" is not spelled out in the Constitution, nor in the Declaration of Independence. It's never spelled out. The claim is that a separation is implied in the Bill of Rights. However, all the 1st Amendment says is, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." In fact, the United States recognizes the Vatican as a city state, established by the Lateran Treaty (1929). Italy's anti-Jewish laws of 1938 prohibited marriages between Jews and non-Jews, including Catholics. The Vatican viewed this as a violation of a concordat between Italy and the Vatican, which gave the Church the sole right to regulate marriages involving Catholics [source Wikipedia]. Government may not influence the Catholic Church. On the other hand, the Church may influence government at will, and ought to, especially on morals. American Catholics like me have no interest in a theocracy but deeply desire that a Catholic culture suffuse every street. Truth is irresistible.
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