well , tell me , what is the Pope &apos;s business ? religion and politics . it &apos;s no good talking as though religion and politics were two separate things , like sport and music . if the captain of the Arsenal starts telling Sir Malcolm Sargent how to conduct an orchestra he &apos;ll be told to mind his own business . Sir Malcolm Sargent will be told the same thing if he tries to tell the captain of the Arsenal how to score goals . sport has nothing to do with music . so everyone knows where he is . what about religion and politics ? they are not in two watertight compartments . think of the number of laws that have just as much to do with a man &apos;s soul as with his body . if the government tells you to send your children to a school where they &apos;ll be taught there &apos;s no God - is that religion or politics ? if the government tells you to kill off your mother because she is suffering from an incurable disease - is that religion or politics ? if the state decides that it is legal for your wife to run off with another man and leave your children without a mother - is that religion or politics ? do you see the point ? there are so many things which are the business of the Church and of the state . if they do n&apos;t agree on what is right there is bound to be conflict . keep religion out . there are some things the government does where religion simply need not enter in . the Church has no views on drains , gas-works or brick-laying . on the other hand the state has no views on vestments , hymns and prayers . so you will n&apos;t find the Church fighting the state over the right size of drain pipes and you will n&apos;t find the state fighting the Church over the right tune for hymns . that &apos;s fine . but there are more important things in life than drain pipes and hymns . it &apos;s all very well to say that if the Church sticks to religion there &apos;s no reason why it should ever fall out with a political party . the point is , what is religion ? another point is , what are politics ? politics means the way to rule a country . but a country is made up of people . and people are both body and soul . it seems pretty obvious that it is the job of a government to look after the needs of the people . it should see that there &apos;s work for the unemployed , food for the hungry , houses for families , education for the children , hospitals for the sick . it seems to be obvious . but really it is n&apos;t obvious at all . the government , after all , is really the servant of the people . the heart of the matter . that brings us to the heart of the matter . there is something very simple which nearly everyone in modern times has forgotten . this is it . the most important thing in the world is the family . we are always talking about the Church and state . but there would n&apos;t be any need either for Church or for state if there were no families . so priests and politicians before they start to talk about their rights must remember that the most important rights in the world are the rights of families . so what seems obvious is n&apos;t so obvious after all . it &apos;s not for the government to decide how it &apos;s going to house people and educate children . it &apos;s for families to decide what kind of houses they want and what kind of education is best for their children . this is what the modern state usually forgets . the catholic Church always remembers . hence all the quarrels between the Church and state . here &apos;s a true story of a man we &apos;ll call John Williamson , because that &apos;s not his name . John was a civil servant of the old school . he had worked hard and passed examinations . he was anxious to get on . now civil servants , as the name suggests , are supposed to be servants of the public . they are supposed to do what they are told . it does n&apos;t matter to them which party is in power . they have to get on with the job without playing politics . John had a wife and four children . he knew if he wanted to rise to be head of his department the less he had to say the better would be his chances . so he never wrote to the papers . he never went to political meetings . he kept himself to himself . his friends used to try to persuade him to join their parties . but John always had his answer . it &apos;s all very well for you fellows , he used to say , you can have any politics you like . you will n&apos;t lose your jobs for speaking out of turn . it &apos;s different with me . when I say the wrong thing , if I do n&apos;t lose my job at least they &apos;ll pass me by when I &apos;m looking for promotion . my motto is - civil servants should be seen and not heard . leave politics alone . so John &apos;s rule of life was to leave politics alone . but politics simply would n&apos;t leave John alone . every couple of weeks there would be some new law passed to make life more difficult . more and more permits required . more and more forms to be filled in . but he did n&apos;t let this get him down . he naturally felt a bit annoyed when he could n&apos;t build a chicken-house in his back garden without having to write a dozen letters . but he was n&apos;t going to break his heart over a few chickens . but , of course , when he had a few friends round for a drink he used to have his grouse . after all , he was thoroughly English . in his view politicians were making life far too difficult . in fact , he went so far as to say that if he were n&apos;t a civil servant he &apos;d go into politics and tell them a thing or two . but one day he changed his mind . he had put up with it when they were telling him what to do about house repairs , petrol and chickens . but now they started messing about with his children . this , said John , is the end . I do n&apos;t mind them telling me how to feed my chickens . but they are not going to tell me how to bring up my children . when you come right down to it , John began to think , politicians are trying to take the place of parents . he did n&apos;t mind when they interfered with parents who would n&apos;t do their job . every Christmas he sent a subscription to the royal society for the prevention of cruelty to children . some men and women did n&apos;t deserve to have children . what was getting him down in a big way was being told what to do about his own children . and who was telling him anyway ? civil servants like himself . as often as not they were not even married . education . what brought things to a head ? it happened this way . although John was n&apos;t a catholic , his wife and children were . Marie , his eldest girl , won a scholarship . so , of course , he put her name down for the convent of the sacred heart . it &apos;s true that the convent was in the next town , three miles away . but Marie was a big , strong girl . half-an-hour &apos;s journey would n&apos;t do her any harm . but what happened ? he had a letter from the local education authority telling him that Marie could not go to the convent School . she would have to go to the municipal high School . he wrote back , thinking there had been some mistake . he pointed out that although he was n&apos;t a catholic he &apos;d promised to bring the children up catholics . so , of course , his girl must go to the convent . back came the reply by return of post . high School or nothing . if he did n&apos;t send her on the first day of term they would prosecute . that &apos;s why John started meddling in politics . here &apos;s a simple question for anyone to answer : who was doing the meddling ? was John meddling in government affairs or was the government meddling in his family affairs ? if you can answer that question - and it &apos;s not a very hard one - you will be able to answer the question - why does the Church meddle in politics ? the important word is meddle . let &apos;s finish the story about John and then you &apos;ll see why . the priest meddles . John could get no satisfaction from the local education authority so he went to see the catholic priest . you know I &apos;m not a catholic , Father , he said , but an Englishman &apos;s word is his bond . I gave my promise that my children would be brought up catholics . I &apos;ve done all I can . if I kick up too much fuss , it &apos;s not going to do me any good at the office . what are you going to do about it ? you can guess what the priest did about it . he did plenty . he argued with the education officer at the Town Hall and lost . then he organized a big protest meeting and invited the Town councillors . the whole case was argued fairly and above board . even the councillors who had no particular use for the catholic religion were impressed . the way they looked at it after they had heard all the speeches was that you can n&apos;t kick people around like that . if this kid had won a scholarship , the parents had a right to say where she should have her education . so Marie is at the sacred heart convent . she &apos;s there because the priest meddled in politics . what is the Church up to ? now if you can see the sense of that , you can see the sense of a lot of things the catholic Church is doing in the world to-day . it &apos;s not a question of one child going to a catholic school . it &apos;s a question of millions of working men being able to worship God in their own way . it &apos;s a question of governments in many parts of the world kicking around their citizens , forcing them to join parties they do n&apos;t agree with , making them do what they are told - or else &amp;hellip; . at this moment , throughout the world , there are hundreds of thousands of people ruined because politicians have told them what they have got to think and say and do . most people who complain when the Church makes political pronouncements imagine that religion is something to be kept within the four walls of a church . but religion does n&apos;t only tell a man how to pray . it does something more vital than that . it tells a man how to live . Jesus Christ was the founder of the Church . they called him a political priest . they put him to death because they said he was meddling in politics . they took him before the Roman governor , Pontius Pilate . we have found this man perverting our nation , they said , and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar . Christ , of course , did no such thing . what had he told them ? render to Caesar the things that are Caesar &apos;s and to God the things that are God &apos;s . that &apos;s what he had said . what he fell out with his enemies about was which are the things of God and which are the things of Caesar . of course , every time a priest fights the state he will be told not to talk politics . that &apos;s what he expects . if that &apos;s what happened to Christ himself , the priest is not surprised it should also happen to him . the law of God . one of the duties of religion is to teach men to keep the law of God . the law of God has a great deal to say about things which have nothing to do with worship . thou shalt not steal . thou shalt not kill . thou shalt not commit adultery . there are three examples of religious matters which have nothing to do with praying . if it is the job of the Church to see that the law of God is kept then it must be the duty of the Church to protest when this law is broken . 