The Catholic State

This is an interesting article from Zenit, proposing the construction of a Catholic state (devoutly to be wished) to resolve many of the problems inherent in our current modern liberal governmental structures.

The author Thaddeus Kozinski, who wrote a signficant work on the subject, is interviewed.

An excerpt.

“LANDER, Wyoming, JAN. 27, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI, echoing his predecessor, has repeatedly exhorted the Catholic faithful and all persons of good will to live their freedom in accordance with truth and the common good.

“The need to live "love in truth" is especially important in "liberal" societies -- representative democracies, republics, and constitutional monarchies -- lest they degenerate into a "thinly disguised totalitarianism" governed by a "dictatorship of relativism."

“As the problem of maintaining public order in pluralistic societies continues to vex political theorists, some are rethinking the modern liberal project. They believe the time is right to reconsider both the assumptions on which such a political order is based, as well as the ability of Catholic teaching and the natural law to be an effective guidepost in supposedly liberal polities.

“One such political philosopher is Thaddeus Kozinski, an assistant professor of humanities, philosophy, and theology at Wyoming Catholic College and the author of "The Political Problem of Religious Pluralism: And Why Philosophers Can't Solve It" (Rowman &Littlefield), a book Aidan Nichols, OP says makes a "sophisticated, cumulative case for the moral limitations and metaphysical bankruptcy of liberal political philosophy."

“Kozinski explained to ZENIT why a "confessional" state, that is, one in which Catholicism is the official religion, is necessary to provide a proper foundation for human flourishing.

“ZENIT: What is religious pluralism? Why is it a political problem?

“Kozinksi: Religious pluralism describes a political community in which citizens hold diverse and sometimes irreconcilable worldviews. It is the situation of most contemporary nation-states in the West ever since the seventeenth century.

“Religious pluralism is a political problem because politics is fundamentally about how human beings organize their lives together to achieve what they consider their individual good and the common good.

“If we can't agree about the good, then we have a serious political problem, and merely privatizing and de-politicizing our disagreements isn't a solution.”