Editorial

Elections are a time to participate fully in our American democracy

The late Cardinal Francis E. George (1937-2015), when he was archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, strongly opposed the labels “liberal” or “conservative” when applied to Church teaching. The Church is “simply Catholic,” he liked to say. It is not aligned with any ideology or political movement.

The evidence for this can be seen in the apparently contradictory stands taken by Church leaders on issues favored by leftist and right-wing political parties.

The Catholic Church is pro-life in its views on both abortion and capital punishment. It strongly asserts the dignity of each individual while seeking to safeguard the common good. And the Church opposes contemporary social mores on sexuality, which permit all kinds of activity between consenting adults, in favor of a stricter (and, the Church would say, more ultimately life-giving and liberating) approach that limits sexual activity to marriage between a man and a woman.

The Catholic Church leans left on social issues (such as civil rights and immigration reform). She leans right on family concerns and religious freedom. To be “simply Catholic” is to understand the world as a gift from God that we are called to nurture, develop and share.

It is to recognize that, regardless of our many differences, we are all sisters and brothers made in the image and likeness of God our Father. Our Church insists on what might be called a “holistic view” of the world and everything in it, rather than seeing only certain parts of reality—no matter how important these are.

Simple Catholicism is an obstacle to all ideological, nationalistic or economic extremes because it acknowledges both reason and revelation as the basis for truth. Any philosophy that rejects or minimizes God’s word is, at best, dangerously incomplete. Any religious perspective that defies human logic or scoffs at scientific evidence is doomed to worship false gods. For “simple” Catholics, faith and reason are two sides of the same coin. We should not embrace one without the other.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson frequently reminds us that Catholic teaching frequently represents a “both/and” perspective. Jesus is both God and man. Humanity is both sinful and saved. When dealing with our brothers and sisters, we are called to show both justice and mercy—to hate sin but love (and forgive) sinners.

This balanced view of ourselves, our neighbors and the world we live in prevents us from becoming rigid and intolerant, on the one hand, or indifferent and permissive on the other. It provides some insight into the way God views his creation—with both great love and deep sorrow for the ways in which humankind has freely chosen to abuse and neglect God’s gifts.

During his visit to the Italian town of Trieste this summer, Pope Francis offered reflections on the authentic meaning of democracy. Quoting former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, who was abducted and killed by leftist terrorists in 1978, the pope said, “A state is not truly a democracy if it is not at the service of man, if it does not have as its supreme goal the dignity, freedom and autonomy of the human person, if it does not respect those social formations in which the human person freely develops and in which he integrates his own personality.”

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, democracy must be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Active participation of the governed in their own government is the fundamental requirement of a healthy democracy. Government by elites who consider themselves better suited to the task of ordering society quickly becomes tyranny. Benign dictatorship is never conducive to real democracy. Populist leaders who appeal to the deepest hopes and fears of the people but who fail to engage those same people in the process of governance always end up disappointing them.

Simple Catholicism encourages boldness and creativity in social programs, not for the sake of popularity but for the common good. Effective political action rises above all ideologies. It seeks to avoid the extremes of the right and the left in order to create a political center that can withstand the pressures placed on it by those who view the world in fragments rather than as an integrated whole.

As we approach the local and national elections this fall, let’s pray for candidates whose policies reflect the fundamental values of human life and dignity for all. And let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will accompany us in our efforts to participate fully in our American democracy.

—Daniel Conway