Prior to Vatican II, the Council in which Roman Catholic leadership assembled from 1962 to 1965 to address important theological matters, the Catholic Church had never really been hospitable to the idea of a separation of church and state.
Vatican II didn't actually deviate from that historically held position. But many observers - including within the Church - thought it did. As a result, a disconcertingly high number of Catholics have been led to believe the Church has little political guidance to offer. And with this has come widespread Catholic reliance on other, usually secular sources - politicians, academics, journalists, etc. - to form their political ideas.
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