Church's Freedom in U.S. Threatened, Says Cardinal George

These are sobering comments from Cardinal George to the Holy Father.

Chicago's archbishop warned that the freedom of the Church in the United States "is now threatened by movements within" and "by government and groups outside."

"Matters that should fall outside the purview of law in a constitutional democracy with a limited government -- the nature of life, of marriage, even of faith itself -- are now determined by courts designed only to protect individual rights."

"The public conversation in the United States is often an exercise in manipulation...It fundamentally distorts Catholicism...Our freedom to preach the Gospel is diminished."

"[Internally] On the left," he said, "the Church's teachings on sexual morality and the nature of ordained priesthood and of the Church herself are publicly opposed, as are the bishops who preach and defend these teachings. On the right, the Church's teachings might be accepted, but bishops who do not govern exactly and to the last detail in the way expected are publicly opposed."

Full Zenit article here.