In the neo-Caths\u00b9 view, if Obama disagrees with Catholic doctrine, he must be condemned and silenced \u00ad even if he\u00b9s not a member of the Church. This assertion of an almost limitless role for the Church in public life comes perilously close to reviving a nineteenth century Pope\u00b9s position that \u00b3Americanism,\u00b2 which values individualism and separation of church and state, is heresy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So let\u2019s get this straight: Catholics, protesting a gratuitous award given by a Catholic college, are asserting \u201can almost limitless role for the Church in public life\u201d? Man, it\u2019s a wonder that tolerant Americans like Shrum even allow Catholics space anywhere on US soil when they are so rudely trying to conduct internal discussions about what should be done in their own institutions like that. Uppity papists! Either you accept what Bob Shrum thinks about abortion or you are trying to impose your will on every American.<\/p>\n