Toward a Catholic conviction in the democratic process

It is difficult to hear a petition within the universal prayer of the Church for Catholics involved in political life that cannot be placed in one of two extremes. Either such a petition will tend toward the trite and meaningless or it tend toward a partisan platform (and composing a petition that doesn't at least suggest one or the other is not easy, particularly since they are to be brief).

This morning, though, a friend shared with me a phrase he heard yesterday. The faithful at the parish he attended prayed for a "Catholic conviction in the democratic process." This phrase seems a very good one, provided that Catholics who enter the voting booth - or who now cast their ballots early through an absentee process - are formed in the faith to understand what a Catholic conviction in the democratic process entails and requires.

As might be expected, I've preached about the necessary role our faith must play in the voting booth several times and thought this might be a good opportunity to revisit this aspect of faithful discipleship (hopefully it isn't too late!).

Before all else, when we enter the voting booth we have to remember what I said on October 14, 2012:

No political party fully supports the truth of the Gospel or the mandate Jesus Christ has given us, though some parties are in greater alignment with it than others; that is not our fault, but theirs. Our allegiance must not be to one political party or another, but to Jesus Christ.

Faith requires something of us. It requires that we love both God and neighbor and that every decision we make, every word we speak, and every action we perform, be in keeping with the love of God and of neighbor, even in the voting booth. Faith, if it is to gain us eternal life, requires a full adherence to Jesus Christ. Faith can never be laid aside, for we are servants of the Lord at all times and in every place. We must remember that “no creature is concealed from [the Lord], but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account” (Hebrews 4:13). If we remember this and live accordingly, America will truly be an enlightened nation.

If we recognize this important reality when we seek to bring a Catholic conviction to the democratic process, we will enter the voting booth with a desire to foster and attain the common good. We often hear the notion of the common good bandied about, but rarely do we hear what the common good actually entails.

Simply put, the true common good - as I mentioned in my homily of September 19, 2010 - is comprised of three necessary and essential elements:

1. a respect for the person;
2. the social well-being and development of society; and,
3. peace, by which is meant stability and security (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1909).

If one of these is not present, the common good will not be fostered.

In the homily I preached on October 19, 2008, I explored the first concern of the common good, namely a respect for the dignity of human life, beginning at the moment of conception.

In this regard we often hear it said that we cannot be so-called "single issue voters." Those who make this claim forget something forget very important, namely:

We know that of all of the choices we make in life, not every decision is of equal importance or of equal consequence. Whether I have cereal or fruit for breakfast is not as important as whether or not I am faithful to my spouse. Clearly, marital fidelity comes first, for the good of the spouses; for the good of the children; for the good of the Church; indeed, even for the good of the world.

We also know that “there are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor.”[1] Such actions are intrinsically evil and must “always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned.”[2] Such actions can never be condoned by society because they – in and of themselves – are evil, wrong and immoral, always and everywhere.

When it comes to the voting booth it is the same: some issues carry greater weight than others and some can never be performed. As Catholics, we must bring our faith to the voting booth and we must vote in accord with the faith of Jesus Christ.

The first among these is the protection of human life, which includes the so-called issues of abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and many others.

On October 3, 2010, I mentioned that this is what some refer to as "the hierarchy of values," as I also mentioned on August 31, 2008. If a person does not have the right to be born, neither the social well-being nor the peace of society can be fostered; if the right to life is not protected, the common good cannot be attained.

Another "issue" gaining ever greater importance in recent months is the question of religious liberty (which is quite distinct from the question of freedom of worship). In this regard, what I said on September 30, 2012 remains true:

Society today is telling us that the most important issues of the upcoming election are jobs and the economy; this is simply not true.  The most important issues of the upcoming election are the right to life and religious liberty.  Without life, no other right matters.  Without religious freedom, every other freedom will be taken away.  “What is at stake is whether America will continue to have a free, creative, and robust civil society – or whether the state alone will determine who gets to contribute to the common good, and how they get to do it” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty, 4-5).

As you prepare to cast your ballot in the general election tomorrow, ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern which candidates for political office will best work toward the authentic common good, and pray for your fellow voters, as well. And if you have not yet taken the time to read the U.S.Bishop's Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States with Introductory Note, please do so.

Together we can bring a Catholic conviction to the democratic process and help ensure that the United States of America will be a nation " with justice and liberty for all."

Homily - 30 September 2012

The Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year (B)

Dear brothers and sisters,

On April 23, 1886, Cardinal Simeoni said to then Deacon Augustus Tolton: “America has been called the most enlightened nation on earth.  We will see if it deserves that honor.  If the United States has never before seen a black priest, it must see one now.”  The next morning Deacon Tolton was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ and sent back to his home here in Quincy.

The most enlightened nation on earth?  I wonder, what did Father Gus think of that phrase?  Born in slavery, he only became free after his mother made a harrowing escape with her three children when Gus was seven.  Does an enlightened nation enslave people simply on the basis of the color of their skin?

When he enrolled at St. Boniface school in Quincy, many of the parents of the white children threatened to withdraw their children; young Gus – then ten years old – was the first black student there and withdrew himself.  Does an enlightened nation discriminate against others because of the color of their skin?  When he later enrolled in St. Peter school – at the insistence of the pastor, Gus found that, “As long as I was in that school, I was safe.  Everyone was kind to me.”[1]

Here, perhaps, we see something of an enlightened nation, but then we remember why Father Tolton left Quincy: the jealousy of Father Weiss, who told the first black priest in these United States that he could only minister to blacks and not to whites.  Even so, writing to Cardinal Gibbons, Father Tolton wrote, “The white people in this little Gem City of Quincy, Ills are really good hearted charitable and nonprejudicial, no feelings of bitterness at all against a man on account of complexion.”[2]  Following his death in 1897 and, in keeping with his wishes, Father Tolton was buried here in Quincy where his body remains today.

History will judge whether or not the America of Father Tolton’s day was indeed an enlightened nation, but I wonder: Will history judge the America of our day to be enlightened?

Is a nation that would require people of faith to violate their consciences and provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs an enlightened nation?  The recent federal mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services requires precisely this, in clear contradiction of our first amendment right of the free exercise of religion.

Is a nation that makes it illegal for a priest to baptize an illegal immigrant or even hear his confession an enlightened nation?  Such a law was been passed in Alabama last year.

Is a nation that seeks to alter the very structure and organization of the Church and to determine who is and who is not a “religious minister” an enlightened nation?  Such a restructuring was attempted in Connecticut in 2009.

Is a nation that tells student religious groups that people of a different faith must be able to be leaders of their religious groups an enlightened nation?  This happened at the University Of California Hastings College Of Law in 2009 and at Vanderbilt University this year.

Is a nation that forces Catholic Charities out of foster care and adoptions simply because their faith tells them they cannot place children with same-sex or unmarried couples an enlightened nation?  This happened this year in Illinois, in the District of Columbia in 2010, and in Boston and in San Francisco in 2006.

Is a nation that refuses to allow Christians to use public buildings but allows other groups to use the same buildings an enlightened nation?  This happens routinely in New York City and elsewhere.

Is a nation that refuses contracts to the best organization helping with human trafficking because it will not provide abortions and contraception an enlightened nation?  The federal government this year refused to renew contracts with the U.S. Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services for this very reason.

Is a nation that kills more than one million babies each year in their mother’s wombs an enlightened nation?  Blessed Teresa of Calcutta shed light on the horror of abortion when she reminded us that “It is a poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”

Is a nation that thinks more about its economic standing than even the right to life when deciding its future an enlightened nation?  I dare say it is not.  What good is a robust economy if few people may enjoy it?

Our Bishop wrote to us last week, saying, “you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy.”[3]  Many people have reacted strongly against the Bishop’s reminder, but the truth of his words remains.

Thinking ourselves more enlightened than our ancestors, we like to think that either Hell does not exist or that no one will go there.  The teaching of Jesus today stands starkly against such a notion.  “It is better for you to enter into life maimed,” he says, “than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43).  Those who make their way to Hell do so by their own choice, by their free rejection of Jesus Christ and the truth of his Gospel.  Just as the Lord does not force us to be with him in this life, neither will he force anyone to be with him in eternity.

Those who make their way to eternal life, to heaven, to the presence of God, are those know that “the law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul,” that “the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple” (Psalm 19:8, 10).

In their recent document highlighting the increasing threats against our religious freedom, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty, our Bishops said:

As bishops we seek to bring the light of the Gospel to our public life, but the work of politics is properly that of committed and courageous lay Catholics. We exhort them to be both engaged and articulate in insisting that as Catholics and as Americans we do not have to choose between the two.[4]

Society today is telling us that the most important issues of the upcoming election are jobs and the economy; this is simply not true.  The most important issues of the upcoming election are the right to life and religious liberty.  Without life, no other right matters.  Without religious freedom, every other freedom will be taken away.  “What is at stake is whether America will continue to have a free, creative, and robust civil society – or whether the state alone will determine who gets to contribute to the common good, and how they get to do it.”[5]

On the day of our Baptism, each of us was entrusted with the light of Christ and was told to keep it burning brightly.  Each of us must bring this light to the public square so that the warmth of the Light of Word and the truth of his words may bring light to a world and a society darkened by sin.

Some will undoubtedly say, “Father, you’re crossing the line of separation of Church and State.” Such is not the case for what we are discussing is not a matter of Church and State but of faith and politics.  “This ought not to be a partisan issue.  The Constitution is not for Democrats or Republicans or Independents.  It is for all of us.”[6]  We must remember that we are neither Republicans or Democrats or Independents; we are Catholics.  No political party fully supports the truth of the Gospel or the mandate Jesus Christ has given us, though some parties are in greater alignment with it than others.

Faith requires something of us. It requires that we love both God and neighbor and that every decision we make, every word we speak, and every action we perform, be in keeping with the love of God and of neighbor, even in the voting booth. Faith can never be laid aside, for we are servants of the Lord at all times and in every place.  If we remember this and live accordingly, America will truly be an enlightened nation.

In speaking these words some will praise me and others condemn me, but I speak these for neither praise nor condemnation; I speak them because they are true. I know that “the precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart” and I want you and every person to know this, as well (Psalm 19:9).  Because these words are true I must speak them, for at the end of my life I want to say to the Divine Master, with honesty and sincerity, “I am an unprofitable servant; I have done what I was obliged to do” (cf. Luke 17:10). Amen.

---

[1] Roy Bauer, They Called Him Father Gus: The Life and Times of Augustine Tolton, First Black Priest in the U.S.A., Part Eight.

[2] Augustus Tolton, Letter to Cardinal Gibbons, July 24, 1888.

[3] Thomas John Paprocki, “Think and pray about your vote in upcoming election,” Catholic Times, September 23, 2012.

[4] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty, 9.

[5] Ibid., 4-5.

[6] Ibid., 10.

Paprocki: "A vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy"

Bishop Paprocki's most recent column in the Catholic Times, "Think and pray about your vote in upcoming election," has gone viral.

Regrettably, I've fallen rather behind on posting the Bishop's columns here, but gladly post this column (with my emphases) in case you have not yet had a chance to read it:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

Much attention was given at the Democratic National Convention held recently in Charlotte, N.C., to the fact that all references to God had been purged from the draft version of the party platform. After outcries of protest from outside as well as within the Democratic Party, the sentence with the same reference to God used in 2008 was restored to read, "We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential." 

Before anyone relaxes and concludes that all is well now that the Democratic Party Platform contains a single passing reference to God, the way that this was done should give us pause. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa had to call for the voice vote three times because each time the sound level for the "ayes" and the "nays" sounded about even, far short of the two-thirds necessary according to convention rules to amend the platform. That did not stop the convention chairman from declaring, "The ayes have it!" 

What is troubling about that is the blatant disregard for the rules and for the apparent wishes of about half the delegates. The reference to God is back in the platform apparently because President Obama wanted it back in. That may be fine for now, but if a future president wants references to God taken out, apparently that can be done regardless of the wishes of the delegates if that is what The Leader wants. That does not bode well for democracy in the Democratic Party. 

Even more troubling is that this whole discussion about God in the platform is a distraction from more disturbing matters that have been included in the platform. In 1992 Presidential candidate Bill Clinton famously said that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." That was the party's official position until 2008. Apparently "rare" is so last century that it had to be dropped, because now the Democratic Party Platform says that abortion should be "safe and legal." Moreover the Democratic Party Platform supports the right to abortion "regardless of the ability to pay." Well, there are only three ways for that to happen: either taxpayers will be required to fund abortion, or insurance companies will be required to pay for them (as they are now required to pay for contraception), or hospitals will be forced to perform them for free.

Moreover, the Democratic Party Platform also supports same-sex marriage, recognizes that "gay rights are human rights," and calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law signed by President Clinton in 1996 that defined marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. 

Now, why am I mentioning these matters in the Democratic Party Platform? There are many positive and beneficial planks in the Democratic Party Platform, but I am pointing out those that explicitly endorse intrinsic evils. My job is not to tell you for whom you should vote. But I do have a duty to speak out on moral issues. I would be abdicating this duty if I remained silent out of fear of sounding "political" and didn't say anything about the morality of these issues. People of faith object to these platform positions that promote serious sins. I know that the Democratic Party's official "unequivocal" support for abortion is deeply troubling to pro-life Democrats. 

So what about the Republicans? I have read the Republican Party Platform and there is nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin. The Republican Party Platform does say that courts "should have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases." But the Catechism of the Catholic Church says (in paragraph 2267), "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm — without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself — the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." 

One might argue for different methods in the platform to address the needs of the poor, to feed the hungry and to solve the challenges of immigration, but these are prudential judgments about the most effective means of achieving morally desirable ends, not intrinsic evils. 

Certainly there are "pro-choice" Republicans who support abortion rights and "Log Cabin Republicans" who promote same-sex marriage, and they are equally as wrong as their Democratic counterparts. But these positions do not have the official support of their party. 

Again, I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against, but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy. 

I pray that God will give you the wisdom and guidance to make the morally right choices.May God give us this grace. Amen.

I am honored to be able to work for Bishop Paprocki and ask you to keep him in your prayers.

Homily - 19 October 2008

The Twenty-ninth Sunday of the Year (A)
World Mission Sunday

Many people today approach Jesus in the same manner as the Pharisees. They say to the Lord, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth” (Matthew 22:16). Though they speak these words with their lips, they do not hold them in their hearts. Are not many of this same ilk today?

How many today, claiming to be faithful disciples, approach the Lord and his Church saying, “We know you speak the truth, but…” Such people do not actually acknowledge the fundamental truth of Jesus’ teachings and of the teachings of the Church.

If we consider the words of Jesus, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” we see that faith requires something of us (Matthew 22:21).

That coin produced by the Pharisees belongs to Caesar because his image is imprinted upon it. Where is the image of God to be found? It is found in every human life. “God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Every human life – from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death – belongs to God and not to Caesar.

Yet there are some who refuse to acknowledge this and claim the “right” to take another’s life. There are even some Catholics who claim it is morally permissible to support and to vote for such a candidate. My dear friends, nothing could be further from the truth!

From the very beginning of the Church down to the present day, the Church has always condemned the evil act of abortion as a grave offense against the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:31; Deuteronomy 5:17). This teaching has never changed; it has never wavered; it remains firm.

We know that of all of the choices we make in life, not every decision is of equal importance or of equal consequence. Whether I have cereal or fruit for breakfast is not as important as whether or not I am faithful to my spouse. Clearly, marital fidelity comes first, for the good of the spouses; for the good of the children; for the good of the Church; indeed, even for the good of the world.

We also know that “there are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor.”[1] Such actions are intrinsically evil and must “always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned.”[2] Such actions can never be condoned by society because they – in and of themselves – are evil, wrong and immoral, always and everywhere.

When it comes to the voting booth it is the same: some issues carry greater weight than others and some can never be performed. As Catholics, we must bring our faith to the voting booth and we must vote in accord with the faith of Jesus Christ.

The first among these is the protection of human life, which includes the so-called issues of abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and many others. “The Church has always taught that the direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.”[3]

As Catholics we are faced with a number of issues that are of concern and should be addressed, such as immigration reform, healthcare, the economy and its solvency, care and concern for the poor, and the war on terror… There are many possible solutions to these issues and there can be reasonable debate among Catholics on how to best approach and solve them. These are matters of “prudential judgment.” But let us be clear: issues of prudential judgment are not morally equivalent to issues involving intrinsic evils. No matter how right a given candidate is on any of these issues, it does not outweigh a candidate’s unacceptable position in favor of an intrinsic evil such as abortion or the protection of “abortion rights.”[4]

Every Catholic has a moral obligation to do what he or she can to protect every human life because “a legal system that violates the basic right to life on the grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed.”[5] Pope John Paul II reminded us, “it is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop.”[6]

Consequently, it is not possible – nor has it even been - for a Catholic to support abortion, euthanasia or other things that are contrary to life and the divine will. “To vote for a candidate who supports the intrinsic evil of abortion or ‘abortion rights’ when there is a morally acceptable alternative would be to cooperate in the evil – and, [is,] therefore, morally impermissible.”[7] To support such policies places one outside the Church, outside of the communion of the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Some will undoubtedly say, “Father, you’re crossing the line of separation of Church and State,” but such is not the case. What we are discussing is not a matter of Church and State but of faith and politics.

Faith requires something of us. It requires that we love both God and neighbor and that every decision we make, every word we speak and action we perform, be in keeping with the love of God and of neighbor, even in the voting booth. Faith can never be laid aside.

At the recent World Youth Day 2008, the Holy Father told us, “Life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose.”[8] If my life is willed, blessed and purposed, so is every other life.

We know this to be true, for if we consider our own individual existence we know that none of us chose to be born. Exploring the depths of our hearts we know ourselves to be creatures and that there is therefore a Creator, the Creator who knows us, loves us and wants us. We know that “each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”[9]

It is precisely because we are creatures made in the image of God that we cannot claim a right to end the life of any man, woman or child. We are not the Creator.

As we celebrate today the World Mission Sunday and we consider the terrible and unspeakable horrors of abortion and the many other offenses against life, these questions rise within us: “What will become of humanity and creation? Is there hope for the future, or rather, is there a future for humanity? And what will this future look like?”[10]

Too often we are tempted to think the future is bleak and dark. Rather than succumb to despair, we must always remember: “Christ is our future,” and “his Gospel is a ‘life-changing’ communication that gives hope, throws open the dark door of time and illuminates the future of humanity.”[11]

We know that “today there are countless people who are waiting for the proclamation of the Gospel, those who are thirsting for hope and love.”[12] Some of these people are not yet born and some of them are here among us today. We must bring the light of the Gospel, the message of hope, to them! “Humanity needs to be liberated and redeemed.”[13] There is only one Liberator and Redeemer: Jesus Christ, and his Gospel is life!

Let us then proclaim his Gospel to the ends of the earth both by our words and by our actions. If we allow the Gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and inform every decision we make then the light of his love will shine through our lives and we will bring his hope and love to a darkened world. Let each of us, then, abandon ourselves to God and render to him what is his. Amen.

[1] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 22.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., 28.
[4] Letter of Bishops Kevin Farrell and Kevin Vann, 8 October 2008, 4.
[5] USCCB, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship., 22.
[6] Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 101.
[7] Letter of Bishops Kevin Farrell and Kevin Vann, 8 October 2008, 5.
[8] Pope Benedict XVI, Address at Welcoming Ceremony, 17 July 2008.
[9] Ibid., Homily, 24 April 2005.
[10] Pope Benedict XVI, Message for World Mission Sunday 2008.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.

World Mission Sunday homily outline

I've been noticing a large number of people finding my blog looking for a homily for the celebration of the World Mission Sunday 2008 to be celebrated this Sunday.

The Gospel is from Matthew where Jesus says to render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. I'll offer a brief outline of what I intend to say this weekend.

The coin in the passage is Caesar's because it has his image on it. The image of God is found in humanity (where are created in his image) and thus all human life belongs to God.

This will lead into a bit on the upcoming elections. The right to life belongs not to Caesar but to God and thus must be protected and defended above all else. Nothing trumps the right to life because life belongs to God, not man.

From here I will speak of the missionary activity of the Church. Because all life belongs to God we have a solemn duty to spread his Gospel so that all people might know him to whom they belong.

The message of the Gospel must be spread both at home and away. There are many places that still need to hear the Gospel for the first time, and there are others who need to hear it again.

By voting for life not only will we help to defend the innocent and vulnerable, but we will also participate in the spread of the Gospel.

On the Catholic vote

You've probably already about this excellent document, but in case you haven't, the Most Reverend Kevin Farrell, Bishop of Dallas, and the Most Reverend Kevin Vann, Bishop of Fort Worth, have issued a joint statement concerning the governing principles of a Catholic vote.

The American Papist has, by far, the best commentary on the document I've seen thus far. Go read his summary and then read the statement.

Bishop Vann is a son of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Keep it up, Bishop Vann!

Grassroots Films has done it again!

Capello tip to A Catholic Mom in Hawaii.