From the Cardinal: We need to participate in politics for the common good | August 9, 2024
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Vol. 5. No. 23
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
In this time of political uncertainty, it’s tempting to be cynical about the motivations and tactics of politicians and to want to disengage from politics. But in spite of what people often say, “politics” is not a dirty word. In fact, as Pope Francis forcefully reminds us, committed Christians and faithful citizens need to participate actively in politics to ensure the common good.
Given all the threats we face here at home and in other parts of the world, we can’t help but ask ourselves: In a time of political turmoil, is it really possible to sustain the vision of our nation’s founders for a free society that ensures liberty, justice and equality for all?
I believe the answer is a resounding “Yes!” But to be successful, all citizens must have reasonable confidence in their political leadership, and they must engage in the political process in meaningful ways.
As Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, “If society is to have a future, it must respect the truth of our human dignity and submit to that truth. . . . A society is noble and decent, not least for its support of the pursuit of truth and its adherence to the most basic of truths” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 207). And, as we bishops of the United States have written in our 2023 statement on the Role of the Church in American Political Life (see below):
The truths that guide public life can be known by natural reason. The sanctity of human life, the equal dignity of all individuals, the obligation to protect the vulnerable, the nature and purposes of sex, marriage, and family—these are not exclusively “religious” truths, but truths that all people of goodwill can come to know without the aid of revelation. Our Catholic faith sheds light on these truths, and so we have a duty to bring that light to our nation.
We have a duty to participate actively in the political process in accordance with our situations in life. This includes voting for candidates and policies that we truly believe, in good conscience, represent what is best for our nation, for its people, and for our relationships with other nations and the global community as a whole. It also means working for peace, justice and equality in our local communities and in national and international affairs.
In his recent address on the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings (see below), Pope Francis once again expressed the Church’s fervent desire: Never again war! Never again the horrors and atrocities of nations “destroying this noble order of things for ideological, nationalistic or economic ambitions.” If we who aspire to be faithful Catholics and good citizens fail to participate actively in the political process—as uncertain and messy as it undoubtedly is today—we are abandoning our responsibility for ensuring the common good.
As faithful citizens and active participants in the political process, we must denounce all forms of political and gun violence and the rhetoric that incites it. As engaged members of the Catholic community, we must implore Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and Patroness of the United States of America, to pray for peace in our hearts, in our communities, in our nation and throughout the world.
May the Holy Spirit of God, who enflames the hearts of God’s people with courage, wisdom and grace, empower us all to participate fully in the politics of our day. And may we act in good conscience for the betterment of all.
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
The Role of the Church in American Political Life
“We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern.” Pope Francis, Morning Meditation
The Church is the body of Christ, who reigns as king over all Creation. Everything, including political life, belongs to Jesus Christ, and so participation in political life belongs to the mission of the Church. Our mandate is to ‘go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15). . . . Here, ‘the creation’ refers to every aspect of human life. . . ‘Nothing human can be alien to it.’ Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 181, quoting Aparecida Document, no. 380
Our national tradition of religious freedom permits and encourages all people of faith to bring the insights of their religious traditions to bear on political matters. As Pope Francis affirmed during his visit to the U.S., “Religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families…. Religion itself, the religious dimension, is not a subculture; it is part of the culture of every people and every nation.”
“If society is to have a future, it must respect the truth of our human dignity and submit to that truth. . . . A society is noble and decent, not least for its support of the pursuit of truth and its adherence to the most basic of truths” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 207). The truths that guide public life can be known by natural reason. The sanctity of human life, the equal dignity of all individuals, the obligation to protect the vulnerable, the nature and purposes of sex, marriage, and family—these are not exclusively “religious” truths, but truths that all people of goodwill can come to know without the aid of revelation. Our Catholic faith sheds light on these truths, and so we have a duty to bring that light to our nation.
“The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only judge using the conscience we have, but our judgments do not make things true.”
Many Parts, All One Body
The bishops and their pastoral collaborators each have distinct roles in the Church’s mission. The bishops have the responsibility to govern the society of the Church, hand on doctrine and tradition, and administer the sacraments. The laity are called to bring the gospel to bear on the world. While many laity are involved in roles of leadership and service within the Church, it remains primarily the role of the laity to advocate for justice, to serve in public office, and to inform daily life with the gospel. “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society is proper to the lay faithful” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 29).
Participation in political life requires judgments about concrete circumstances. While bishops together with their coworkers help form the laity in accordance with basic principles, they do not tell the laity to vote for particular candidates. On these often-complex matters, it is the laity’s responsibility to form their consciences and grow in the virtue of prudence to approach the many and varied issues of the day with the mind of Christ.
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
Conscience is “a judgment of reason” by which one determines whether an action is right or wrong (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1778). It does not allow us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling.” Conscience—properly formed according to God’s revelation and the teaching of the Church—is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth. The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only judge using the conscience we have, but our judgments do not make things true.
It is our responsibility to learn more of Catholic teaching and tradition, to participate in Church life, to learn from trustworthy sources about the issues facing our communities, and to do our best to make wise judgments about candidates and government actions. These decisions should take into account a candidate’s commitments, character, integrity, and ability to influence a given issue. Thus equipped, and further impelled by our sense of patriotism, we exercise our right and duty to vote and otherwise to participate actively in public life. By forming our consciences for faithful citizenship, we can better pursue the common good and thus obey the command of our Lord to love our neighbors.
(The following was approved by the body of U.S. bishops in November 2023. Find this and more complementary resources at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.)
A Message from Pope Francis: Words of Challenge and Hope
(A Selection from the Message of the Holy Father Pope Francis to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings. L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, Fifty-seventh year, number 23, Friday, 7 June 2024, p. 1,12.)
I am pleased to join in thought and prayer with all those gathered in this Cathedral of Bayeux to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. I welcome all the civil, religious and military authorities present.
We remember the colossal and impressive collective and military effort made to restore freedom. And we also think of the cost of this effort: these immense cemeteries with rows of thousands of soldiers’ graves — most of them very young, and many of them from far away — who heroically gave their lives, thus bringing the Second World War to an end and restoring peace, a peace that — at least in Europe — lasted almost 80 years. The landings also cause dismay, as they call to mind images of the towns and cities of Normandy that were completely devastated: Caen, Le Havre, Saint-Lô, Cherbourg, Flers, Rouen, Lisieux, Falaise, Argentan… and so many others; and we would also like to remember the countless innocent civilian victims and all those who suffered those terrible bombardments.
But the landings evoke, more generally, the disaster represented by that atrocious world conflict in which so many men, women and children suffered, so many families were torn apart, and so much destruction was wrought. It would be pointless and hypocritical to commemorate it without condemning and rejecting it definitively; without renewing Saint Paul VI’s cry to the United Nations on 4 October 1965: never again war! Although, for several decades, the memory of the errors of the past supported the steadfast determination to do everything possible to avoid a new open global conflict, I note with sadness that this is no longer the case today and that mankind has a short memory. May this commemoration help us to recover it!
It is worrying, in fact, that the possibility of widespread conflict is sometimes once again being seriously considered, that people are gradually becoming accustomed to this unacceptable possibility. People want peace! They want conditions of stability, security and prosperity in which everyone can fulfill their duties and destinies in peace. Destroying this noble order of things for ideological, nationalistic, or economic ambitions is a serious fault before mankind and before history, a sin before God.
So, Your Excellency, I wish to join your prayers and those of all those gathered in your Cathedral:
Let us pray for the men who want wars, those who start them, stir them up senselessly, maintain and prolong them uselessly, or cynically profit from them. May God enlighten their hearts, and may He set before their eyes the trail of misfortune they cause!
Let us pray for peacemakers. To want peace is not cowardly. On the contrary, it requires great courage, the courage to know how to give up something. Even if mankind’s judgment is sometimes harsh and unjust towards them, “the peacemakers … shall be called sons of God” (Mt 5:9). May they oppose the implacable and obstinate logic of confrontation and be able to open up peaceful paths of encounter and dialogue. May they persevere tirelessly in their endeavors, and may their efforts be crowned with success.
Lastly, let us pray for the victims of wars, both past and present. May God welcome to Him all those who died in those terrible conflicts, and may He come to the aid of all those who suffer them today; the poor and the weak, the elderly, women and children are always the first victims of these tragedies.
May God have mercy on us! Invoking the protection of Saint Michael, patron saint of Normandy, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, I wholeheartedly impart my Blessing to each and every one of you.
My Prayer for You
Please join me in asking our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Peace, to intercede for us during this time of political uncertainty. May she help us all to discover true peace—the peace that can only come from surrendering to God’s will for humanity and a wholehearted embrace of the fraternity and common welfare of all our sisters and brothers in the one family of God.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. Teach us to love one another as your Divine Son loves each and every one of us. Amen.