Chalk one up to state religion?

Established, state, and national churches are tricky things. It’s not hard to find examples of where these can go horribly wrong. How many Christians have fled to America because of persecutory regimes that assailed their confessional stances? Even today, we see horrible examples of moral and spiritual compromise from the various established and state churches of Europe. And, for many American Christians, full-on disestablishment is something of a first principle when it comes to their doctrine of the church. But history is more complicated than that. In fact, current events are more complicated than that.

A case in point is Monaco. Last year, Prince Albert II of Monaco refused to sign legislation legalizing abortion. This places Monaco alongside European countries Malta, Liechtenstein, Andorra, and Poland that have laws protecting the unborn—all exceptional cases when contrasted with much of the rest of Europe. In fact, Monaco has done a fairly decent job of upholding the dignity of human life across the board. Now, things aren’t perfect. Monaco decriminalized abortion in 2019, even though it is illegal. And Monegasque law permits the termination of a pregnancy in the case of significant fetal malformation, rape, and serious risk to a mother’s life. But the 2025 proposal would have allowed for a voluntary termination up to 12 weeks (16 weeks in cases of rape) and would have lowered the age of parental consent from 18 to 15.

Now, what was most interesting was the prince’s reasoning for his decision. In an interview with local newspaper Monaco-Matin, he stated, “I believe the current system expresses who we are, considering the role of the Catholic religion in our country, while ensuring safe and humane support.” Read that again.

Of course, Albert II’s decision was just, and it was in keeping with natural law. There is a simple moral truth to which all must assent: “Thou shalt do no murder.” And unborn babies are innocent human beings. Abortion is murder. Any sane constitutional order should recognize these facts. Natural law isn’t sectarian, and so neither is restricting abortion.

But this is not what the prince said. What he said was, “considering the role of the Catholic religion in our country.” Article 9 of Monaco’s constitution clearly states, “The Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the State.” This is not a natural law argument, even though Catholic theology embraces natural law. No, the reality on the ground here is a recognition of religion’s authority in society, and a political will to enforce that authority and order.

Because Prince Albert II decided to submit to the directives of Monaco’s state religion, unborn babies will be spared horrible deaths, and the murder of the innocent shall remain illegal, at least for the time being.

What do we do with that?

For one, we should recognize the potency of political courage. Rulers can have the will to choose the good over the evil. Moral decline is chosen. It is not an unstoppable fate that excuses men for moral responsibility. Legalized abortion, ironically enough, is a choice, not an inevitability. St. Augustine said it best, “Bad times! Troublesome times! This men are saying. Let our lives be good; and the times are good. We make our times; such as we are, such are the times.” Politicians need to stop talking about abortion as some kind of unstoppable reality. Leaders need to have the wherewithal to uphold the right thing, even when loud, large swathes of their populace cry out for wickedness.

For another, we might need to adopt a more expansive view of the church and its relationship to the state and society. Simply put, various kinds of state churches can achieve good things while disestablished churches can fail and even embrace evil things. It’s easy to maximize the failings of the Church of England while ignoring that very much disestablished Episcopal Church and Anglican Church of Canada. May I just say that I think that we should keep our options open, at least intellectually? God clearly works through various arrangements of church and state, and Satan also clearly works in various arrangements, trying to corrupt churches and nations in various ways. What is most fitting and prudent can vary according to time and place.

A state-established church wouldn’t work in America, especially today. However, we can be thankful that a Catholic prince of a Catholic country made a stand for life. May all magistrates, regardless of confession or creed, make similar stands to protect the unborn. And may Christians particularly make perfect their own political will. We must act in the sure and certain hope that God will be victorious, and that things on earth will be as they are in heaven, albeit in ways and on a timeframe that are unknown to us.