I don’t know what all the hubbub was about because a Catholic bishop supported a petition to call for a vote about a new prison in the county.

Just because a person becomes a member of the clergy does not mean he sacrifices his right to free speech. But my main concern was about a letter from Mike Straczuk in Vidalia who claimed this bishop’s remarks were a violation of separation of church and state.

There is no such clause in the Constitution that forbids the church from involving itself in the affairs of the state.

The closest reference to this idea in the Constitution says that the government cannot make any laws that would establish a state-sponsored religion. They had experienced that, and came to the New World, in part, to have the freedom to worship as they pleased without government interference — that’s the separation they wanted.

So, Mr. Straczuk, to answer your question as to whether the Constitution has been amended, the answer is no, it still reads the same way it always has.

Unfortunately, it is not followed as the writers intended. They did not want the government telling people how to worship — they left Europe to get away from all that. But the founding fathers all strongly adhered to the idea that government without a direct influence from God through godly individuals would destroy the country.

Our government leaders down through the years have followed this ridiculous and unconstitutional idea of separation of church and state, and you can see where we have come to today — a mess that only promises to get worse.

Spruce Derden

Natchez resident