Catholics "may not co-operate" with the law of the land!

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, has said it "remains to be seen" whether the church will cooperate with the law of the United Kingdom.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6473831.stm

The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, which outlaw discrimination against gay people by businesses and service providers, were approved tonight by the House of Lords and will come into force on 30 April.

So by what right does the Catholic Church of Rome - or ANY church for that matter - believe it can ignore the law? How dare they even make such a statement?

Isn't it about time that organised religions, which by their own history should be judged on their own record of hiding paedophiles, of corrupt business practices, and embracing terror and intimidation as a means of controlling their adherents, should be ostracised from the process of politics and the rule of nations for ever?!

I feel any government that allows elderly bigots to influence the decisions it makes for and on behalf of its citizens, is lost forever in a modern and progressive world.

Cardinals and Archbishops! Stick to your own weird blinkered existence, and let the real world exist without you and your kind...