Faith and religion have a necessary and significant role to play in the development of government and social policy, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., told local Catholics gathered for the annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast Sept. 18.

"What faith brings to our world is a way of seeing life and reality, a way of judging right and wrong, a norm against which we can see our life measured in light of the wisdom of God," Archbishop Wuerl said in his keynote talk at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which followed an early morning Mass.

"We simply cannot put aside this conviction of how we live and make important decisions, and still be who are as Catholics and as heirs to the American dream of personal freedom, faith and the common good. We cannot divide personal morality and ethics from political life any more than we can separate spiritual values from human values."

Addressing the theme "The Place of Religious Faith in the Public Forum," Archbishop Wuerl pointed out that the development of the United States, on both coasts, is interwoven with religious history. California, he noted, is particularly striking in its preponderance of city and regional names --- so many that "you may be tempted to think that you are reciting the Litany of Saints."

As laws and society have developed in the new land, "out of these many threads there is woven one common principle that is formative of the American political experience," Archbishop Wuerl said. "The belief in the binding character of moral law is fundamental to any understanding of American thought. Government must be guided by foundational moral principles; all human government must be limited."

Today, he continued, the current national debate on many issues --- abortion, euthanasia, immigration reform --- is framed largely in principles rooted in Catholic moral theology.

"As believers," he said, "we look to our faith. We are both citizens of the nation and members of the Church. We should look to our most deeply held convictions when we address matters that affect our nation's activities at home or abroad."

For Catholics, "our choices in the political arena must be conscious ones. As members of Christ's Church, we look to its teaching --- guided by the Holy Spirit --- to help us form our conscience." And to be true to "our heritage, our history, our faith," he said, "the voices of each of us must be heard."

"The assertion that the 'secular' model of society is the only acceptable way of addressing public policy issues causes us to look again at the place of religion and Gospel values in our efforts to build the common good."

The current effort to "bleach out" God from public life will ultimately fail, Archbishop Wuerl asserted.

"God is a part of the lives of the overriding majority of people in our nation, demonstrated in poll after poll," he said. "To pretend otherwise ill prepares society to deal realistically with the actual human condition."

Moreover, "The secular view of life being imposed on our diverse pluralistic society does not reflect the reality of a nation made up almost entirely of people of faith," he stated.

Archbishop Wuerl said he was optimistic that the "personal, serene but firm affirmation of God as a part of our life, public and private," will be heard and recognized in the public realm.

But, he added, it is necessary for people of faith both to know "correct moral positions" in dealing with complex issues, and to communicate them to all participants in a consumer society.

To this sphere, Catholics bring faith, the love of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, "which makes us capable of transforming our circumstances, our community, our lives, into everything that jesus says we can be, everything he calls us to be."

"We must always remember," Archbishop Wuerl concluded, "that as God was with the founders of the Church here in this community, so God continues to be with us."

---Mike Nelson