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SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
'Catholics in the Public Square'
Why would a bishop write a booklet on the mission of Catholics in the public square? Because there is a public square, and because Christ wants us to be there, loving our neighbor, doing works of charity, promoting the common good and defending the dignity and right to life of all. This is all part of being called by God to holiness of life. Holiness requires personal prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments. It also requires putting that faith into practice in both personal and public dimensions of life.
We live in a time in history when Catholics and other people of faith are frequently pressured to separate our faith from our public life. We are told that faith in God is a purely private affair and, therefore, should be left out of public debate. But such false contentions make a mockery of faith. They also are a disservice to society. If our faith does not impact on every dimension of our life, then it is not true faith. It has become a mere pretense. As St. James writes in his New Testament Epistle (2:26), “Faith without works is dead.”
Imposing on others or living lives of integrity?
In a similar vein, some contend that we Catholics are trying to impose our beliefs on others. Nothing could be farther from the truth as the Church merely proposes but does not impose its will.
As people of faith, we engage issues on the basis of what we believe, just as atheists engage issues on the basis of what they hold dear. We fight for what we think is right. When we act on the basis of our faith convictions, we are just living lives of integrity, being faithful to the vocation and mission we have received from God. This is good for others, even those without faith. It is good for one’s country. People of authentic faith strengthen the spiritual and ethical fiber of their country. These are the kind of citizens the world needs.
This is why Christ tells His followers (Mk 16:15), “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” He also tells us (Mt 5:14-16), “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
The scandal of doing nothing
If we do not put our faith into practice in the public square, our profession of faith becomes hollow, and we become a source of scandal for others. Scandal is not only a word or action that draws another into evil. It is also the omission of words or actions that are called for by justice. Many crisis-points in history illustrate this scandal of inaction, for example, slavery in the United States, the Holocaust in Europe, and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda. In retrospect, we find ourselves wondering, “How could those who believed in Christ have stood by idly in the face of such evil and injustice?” Yet, what we are really challenged to do by such historical instances is to examine our own times and our own inactions. Where are the great injustices now? By failing to do good when we have the ability and the duty to do so, we commit sin ourselves and we lead others to do the same.
Not to act when our neighbor’s life or the foundation of the family is at stake, as in the case of not attempting to protect unborn children threatened by abortion or to protect the institution of marriage, is a particularly grave scandal of omission. Jesus had strong words to say about this kind of scandal (Mt 18:6): “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Our Savior also said (Lk 17:1), “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.”
Non-negotiables?
For some years now it has become fashionable to speak about “a seamless garment” approach to the Church’s teaching on political and social issues. While there is merit to this approach, in that it rightly emphasizes the inner coherence and objective connectedness of these issues, there have been times when such an approach left the impression that these issues are of equal importance. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Concern about this confusion led Pope John Paul II to write: “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with the maximum determination.” (Christifideles laici, #38)
Pope Benedict XVI shed further light on this matter in his address on March 30, 2006, to European politicians:
“As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable. Among these the following emerge clearly today:
- Protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;
- Recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family — as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage — and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;
- The protection of the rights of parents to educate their children.”
So why does a bishop write a little book titled “Catholics in the Public Square”? Because he wants to encourage the members of the Church, and indeed all people of good will, to be good citizens, to engage in public debate, to be well informed on key public issues, to vote, to put their faith into action.
This column originally appeared in the Oct. 19, 2006, edition of The Catholic Sun.
Copyright 2008 The Catholic Sun.
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