uence and made every effort to intensify it, using its considerable weaponsùthe sacrament and the sermonùto enforce political uniformity on social issues. In this, the church has done more than merely affect the way Americans perceive the agenda. Today, the church is playing a significant role in setting the agenda for social issues, and is using its presumed domain over all things holy to hold the American conscience hostage.
In America in 2004, many orthodox Catholics believe that no public official can be both openly Catholic and a supporter of abortion. Deemed a ômoral evil of the highest orderö, abortion cannot simultaneously be rejected in private life and determined acceptable in the public sphere (Sullivan 94). On this view, oneÆs private view on the morality of abortion is not presumed to differ from on
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