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in any sense as being a part of the Church would be by his confession of Jesus as Lord.
29. What is the proper relationship between the Church and the State? The separation of Church and State can mean one of two things: (1) a constitutional separation whereby the independence of the Church is protected; or (2) a complete moral separation of social, economic, or political import. A constitutional separation of Church and State means. on the one hand, that the State will do nothing to obstruct the work of the Church and, on the other hand, that the Church will neither seek nor accept any special privilege which might give it an unfair advantC!-QS over other comparable groups within the political society. These are really two sides of the same coin. If the Church accepts privileges from the State, it becomes indebted to the State and is proportionately less free. And vice-
versa. A total moral separation means that the Church will concern itself with religious matters only: worship, catechesis, preaching, doctrinal instruction, devotions, and so forth. How society is otherwise structured (e.g., system of taxation, housing, social services, labor-management relations. foreign policy, and so forth) is a matter of interest for the State alone. Constitutional separation of Church and State has very much in its ¡ favor; complete moral separation has always been rejected by the Church. and most recently in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (n. 43): "Nor. on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religiori consistS in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations. and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affiars in such a way as to imply that they are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among ~he more serious errors of our age."
30. Does the Church have a future? The Church will last as long as there are people who believe in the Lordship o¡f Jesus Christ and who will thereby be moved to confess this faith openly and to celebrate it sacramentally. Whether the Church of the distant future will bear any major resemblance to the Church of the present day is. of course. an open question. But however it may change. it will always be the one community which accepts Jesus as Lord. which breaks bread in his name, and wpich is permanently committed to the coming of God's Kingdom among men.