Introduction
During the prayer of intentions during Mass, we always pray for the unborn. Of course this refers to the unborn children of those who are contemplating abortion. As a Catholic, I have always been mystified by the politicians who label themselves as Catholic, but seem to always vote in favor of the expansion of abortion rights or vote “no” when a bill comes up that restricts abortion rights. Does this Catholic politician say “amen” to these prayers? Is this any of our business?
Today, almost constantly, within certain political issues the Catholic Church is instructing the American public of the Church position, and what a responsible Catholic voter should consider when casting their ballots’. A common response to the Catholic Church has been that this intrudes on the Constitution of the United States and the separation of Church and State. Should the Catholic Church involve itself with political issues of democratic governments’?
Literature Review
Nation under God
Alfred Emanuel Smith, Jr. was the first Catholic to be nominated for President. The critical issue of the time was prohibition, which Protestants believed should remain, and Smith believed in a relaxation of the law, even though it was part of the Constitution, a belief that may have reinforced the opinion that he would answer to the Pope, not to the constitution. Smith viewed America as a God fearing nation, and as a God fearing man himself, he saw no conflict between governing and his religion. “I have never known any conflict between my official duties and my religious belief. No such conflict could exist.” (Smith, 1927) Smith further explains (paraphrased) that the Ten Commandments came from God and the United States was built upon those commandments, therefor how could a conflict even be conjured during this time? Smith believed that if a conflict were to arise it would be because of a law in the future that violated the common morality of all God-fearing men.
Country First
President Kennedy (then a candidate) drew a much clearer line of separation between his political life and his religion. Kennedy did not support a Vatican Ambassador and believed his religion should only be important to him and no one else. On September 20th, 1960, John F. Kennedy gave a major speech in response to critics of his Catholic faith, who assumed he would be guided by Rome if he was elected President of the United States. Kennedy assured the mostly Protestants concerns, by stating that he believed,”… in an America where separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president how to act.” In his speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association he said, “I do not speak for my church on public matters and the church does not speak for me.” (Transcript: JFK’s Speech on His Religion, 2007)In the same speech he went into further detail mainly pointing out that he would decide issues according to national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures, even if threatened with punishment from within the church.
John Kerry responded to another Vatican document called “considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons” within the document, it told Catholic politicians that they must oppose gay marriage and civil unions. John Kerry said, “It is important not to have the church instructing politicians. That is in an inappropriate crossing of the line in this country. President Kennedy drew that line very clearly in 1960, and I believe we need to stand up for that line today. Our founding fathers separated church and state in America. It is an important separation. It is part of what makes America different and special, and we need to honor that as we go forward and I’m going to fight to do that.” (Mass., 2003)
Discussion
Local Catholic Influence
The Catholic influence in politics has at its’ center issues involving human dignity and what is ethical for the common good. Typically these issues have been the death penalty, abortion, birth control, and traditional marriage. Catholic influence on these issues, particularly in Massachusetts was strong in the first half of the 20th century, but began to decline in the second half, the child sex abuse scandal accelerating it. (Cunningham, 2005)
Be Catholic Always
Cardinal Ratzinger explains the role of the Catholic Church within politics by writing, “The emergence of ambiguities or questionable positions in recent times, often because of the pressure of world events, has made it necessary to clarify some important elements of church teaching in this area.” And, “It is, however, the Church’s right and duty to provide a moral judgment on temporal matters when this is required by faith or the moral law.” He explains that the Catholic Church believes that the role of the political person is to serve the promotion of the human person and the common good. The message within the document that most Catholic politicians may disagree with is: “there cannot be two parallel lives and their existence: on the one hand, the so-called “spiritual life”, with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called “secular” life, that is, life and a family, at work, and social responsibilities, and the responsibilities of public life and in culture.” (Ratzinger, 2002)
The Vatican document assumes that Catholic politicians adhere to the same moral principles of Catholic doctrine when in “Public Life”. The Catholic Church is merely telling the politicians to act Catholic and this is a basic requirement of the church for all Catholics. Countless times in Mass, I have been told by the priest that the best way to recruit future Catholics is to act out our faith sensibly, at all times. Being Catholic is an inseparable trait from the whole person, just as a police officer is dedicated to act within the law in their professional and personal life, a Catholic is to act within the boundaries of Catholicism in the Church, and in secular society.
Ethical Pluralism
It is an unreasonable expectation to require politicians to separate their religious ethics from their public ethics. To act ethically, the entirety of a person’s human experience must be involved, which includes their religious life. “Human sexuality, though, is a central aspect of one’s self identity. It is thus difficult, if not impossible, for a supporter of homosexual rights to grant the distinction between the act and the centrality of sexual identity to one’s own personhood.” (Cunningham, 2005) Ethics are drawn from our human experience and religious life is part of that human experience for Catholics. I argue that one’s ethics is a central aspect of one’s self identity as well and as such cannot be separated into two categories; personal (religious) and public (voting). This would be ethical pluralism and does not reflect our whole person.
Assumption
A Catholic public servant acting contrary to his faith-when he votes or contrary to the belief of the church represents the faith as something it is not; misleading the people he governs. In these cases the church is forced to correct the error, because it may cause other Catholics to misinterpret what it means to be a Catholic.
Conclusion
If a person describes themselves as Catholic, then they have a responsibility to act within the guidelines set by the Catholic Church in their private lives as well as in public, just as persons who are police officers have a responsibility to act within the guidelines set by their organization. If we are responsible voting citizens, then we must act within our own set of ethics, the same ethics which guide our lives in everything. Diversity is respected by voting with our whole person, and respecting other persons whole being. The same should be expected of those who we elect, and they must be held accountable to how they describe their set of ethics, at the same time expecting them to be respectful of other persons and their faith or lack thereof. The Catholic Church, just as any other religious organization has a responsibility to lead their members in the ethics they prescribe.
Bibliography
Mass. senator blasts Vatican for decree on gay marriage. (2003, September). Church & State, 56.8, 19 From Gale Power Search. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.
Transcript: JFK’s Speech on His Religion. (2007, December 5). Retrieved October 14, 2011, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16920600
Al Smith. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Smith
Cunningham, M. T. (2005). Catholics and the ConCon: The Church’s Response to the Massachusetts Gay Marriage Decision. Journal of Church & State, 47(1), 19-42 Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Ratzinger, C. J. (2002, November 21). Retrieved October 17, 2011, from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20021124_politica_en.html
Smith, A. E. (1927, May). Retrieved 10 15, 2011, from The Atlantic Magazine: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1927/05/catholic-and-patriot/6522/1/
