"In God We Trust" Papal power and the Hispanic Catholic

One of the US pillars of democratic governance involves the separation of church and state. However, the religious values of the ‘American Creed’ remain embedded in modern US society. In reference to his recent visit to the US, Pope Benedict stated, "From the dawn of the republic, America has been . . . a nation which values the role of religious belief in ensuring a vibrant and ethically sound democratic order." However, as the pope’s visit so clearly showed, there is still large interaction between the religious and political sphere.

The Catholic Church in the US has undergone huge shifts in demographics in just the past ten years. Hispanics, born in the U.S. or elsewhere, now account for nearly a third of American Catholic adults, said a Pew Forum on Religion and Public. And the Hispanic share of the church is likely to grow; according to the study, nearly half of American Catholics under the age of 40 are Hispanic. Hispanics worshipers are joining generations of Italian, Polish and Irish Catholics, and bringing into the church their specific problems of poverty, integration, and perhaps most controversial; the US immigration debate.

Although Pope Benedict’s visit did not focus directly on Hispanics or migration, he delivered much of his opening message in Spanish, including the recital of the Lord’s Prayer – making it very clear that he knew the importance of Hispanic Catholics in US Catholicism.

During his visits with President Bush, Pope Benedict discussed immigration reform and urged the president to push for granting legal status to the illegal immigrants living in the US. The Hispanic community has voiced its hope that the pope’s visit will “send a message of tolerance towards immigrants in America.” Compassionate treatment of immigrants is an issue Catholics care deeply about as they seek to protect the Hispanics that are bolstering church membership numbers.

There has been much discussion concerning the fact that the pope’s visit coincides with a particularly heated time in US elections. Although representatives from the church have voiced their hopes that the visit will not be ‘instrumentalized’, the Hispanic voter population is one that may have great sway in the increasingly heated Democratic Primary race, as well as in the Presidential elections.