APHORISM OF THE DAY
The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation.
~ Benedict XVI to bishops of the United States in Rome for their five-yearly "ad limina" visit. Jan. 19, 2012.