Acton on Church and State

The following are some thoughts of Lord Acton on the subject of Church and State.

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It was the Church that formed what we call today public opinion:

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"Force must be met by force. Now the force that can resist the power of government is opinion. The Church supplied that force, guided it, and made it independent of the state. It acted for the formation of opinion. It was the only power in the West, that could produce it. There was no press, no popular education. No man spoke to the people except the priest. No other influences reached them. (...) So that the force lived in the Church until public opinion was formed."

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It was the Church that, checking the powers of governments, produced modern liberty:

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"Religion developed liberty - by the balance of power".

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Also:

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"The limitation of authority in the state by the immunity of a corporation [the Church] strong enough for resistance, permanent in its organization, constant in its maxims, and superior to national boundaries, has been the source of modern freedom".

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On the separation of Church and State:

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"Real liberty depends, not on the separation, but on the distinct and appropriate, but continuous action and reaction, between Church and State".

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The Church as the source of International Law:

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"Catholicism: The one political idea is that there is a power beyond the state and not coterminous with it. (...). So that is the genuine Catholic action: a church inside and outside - vaster than the state, bringing genuine influence to bear - a force of public opinion, of international law, of arbitration".

(ibid., pp. 611-12).