Fifteen Centuries of Political Interference of the Vatican

Many people have been outraged over the Vatican's attempt to pressure politicians to vote on the issue of gay marriage in a manner consistent with Catholic beliefs, even if that means forcing non-Catholics to live under Catholic doctrine. It should not, however, be at all surprising - the Roman Catholic Church has long made it a point of interfering with political matters in order to try and enforce its doctrines on everyone.

Joseph Brean writes in Canada's National Post:

The Holy See has tried to overturn laws and unseat sovereigns with the force of a papal bull, while more subtle ecclesiastical directives have been used to support political parties and prevent legal sentences from being carried out. ...Today, Pope John Paul II has a professed respect for democracy, but has still tried to influence laws on many matters, most notably abortion.

There is certainly nothing wrong about a religious organization, including the Vatican, speaking out on a moral or political matter of great importance. They should be encouraged to express their viewpoint and add to the social debates. However, exerting religious and spiritual pressure on politicians in another matter entirely. Suggesting that they will go to hell if they vote "wrong" defies common decency and is simply intolerable.

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• Roman Catholicism
• Popes