"Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments. We will not obey the words of the king by departing from our religion in the slightest degree." 1 Maccabees 2:21-22
The Church is not a political entity. She is a spiritual entity. In this day and age, we are all too caught up in our convenient ideological labels. This person is a conservative. That person is a liberal. He is only saying that because he is a member of that party. She would think differently if she were on the other side of the aisle. But God defies our categories.
God is not a Republican. God is not a Democrat.
It is a fundamental flaw to look at religion in terms of politics. All too often, Christ is reduced to a merely political figure of history by pundits and social commentators. Quite frankly, such people fall somewhere in between insane and idiotic. You cannot judge Christ without first reading His Word. Jesus was in no way political! He did not instruct us on how to govern ourselves, he taught us how to love God and how to love one another. He certainly did not, as others might assert, endorse Communism! What part of "my kingdom does not belong to this world" is unclear?
We like to look at believers in terms of politics as well. Catholics tend to fall into the middle of the political spectrum on average, and that is not a bad thing. There is no 11th Commandment that says you must be a liberal or a conservative. It simply does not matter. In His earthly ministry, Jesus welcomed them all, conservative and liberal, tax collector and prostitute, Pharisee and poor. He made no distinction.
The Catholic Church was born under the watch of the Roman Empire. Soon (relatively) afterwards, She coexisted (also relatively) with the feudal states of Europe. The Catholic Church predates American democracy by seventeen centuries! She cannot be limited by a democracy. We have more than a few kings and queens for saints. I have a feeling that it does not count for much before the pearly gates whether or not you are a Republican, a Democrat, or even a monarchist. Heaven is an open primary.
This is the Truth. The problem is that the Truth rarely finds itself acted out in reality. In America, religion has become very much political. It seems that you can no longer discuss theology without discussing politics. There is a reason for this. Though Jesus defined political categories, His moral teachings look quite similar to the social policies of conservatives today. Politics has decided to become an arbiter of morality as well as policy. In 1973, Roe v Wade made abortion legal across the United States. It was, as a whole, applauded by Democrats, and criticized by Republicans. President Reagan was a firm supporter of the pro-life movement. President Obama might well be mistaken for a Planned Parenthood spokesman. Though you might be able to find a Democrat who is against abortion if you tried hard enough, it would be nearly impossible to find an elected Democrat who is pro-life. The opposite is true for the Republican party. The current field of Republican presidential candidates are all, to one degree or another, against abortion. This carries into other moral teachings as well. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court made the rather asinine assumption that it had the authority to rule on the nature of marriage, and legalized an abomination. Like a broken record, history repeats herself. Republicans supported traditional marriage. Democrats supported the abomination.
The Republican party is not the Church, though it tends to coincide with Her teachings more than the Democratic party. Often times, conservative politicians focus more on justice than compassion. They become out of balance on the side of the law when it affects the poor and suffering. Its stance on sin and sinners is not as refined or as merciful as that of the Church. There is nothing at all wrong with having liberal Catholics. In fact, it is a very good thing. They remind us about the need to address the human suffering in the world.
The first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, was a Catholic. Many social reforms that eased the suffering of our poor were passed under that great humanitarian, FDR, also a Democrat. The Democratic party is not, contrary to popular belief, the spawn of Satan. It just happens to look like it at the moment.
Catholic Democrats are placed in a rather nasty position by their leadership. Some of the social policies of the Democratic party are in direct violation of the teachings of the Church. Abortion is murder. It is that simple. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Also simple. The Church is not interfering in matters of politics. Politicians are interfering in matters of the Church. The great Bishop Fulton Sheen addressed this point perfectly. "The Church does not interfere in politics... The Church does not judge such a philosophy. But when it does this, it is not interfering with politics, for such politics is no longer politics, but theology."
True Catholics cannot vote for pro-choice politicians. By doing so, they help to perpetuate the genocide against infants. Their vote is stained with blood. Likewise, our vote must be an emphatic "No!" for any politician who interferes in matters of theology and tries to legitimize sin. That spurs on the disintegration of the family and the acceptance of sin in our society. That is not right.
You can be a Republican. You can be a Democrat. But first and foremost, you must be a Catholic. You must vote as a Catholic. Politics has no authority when it comes to the teachings of the Church. When theology becomes involved, we must vote according to the teachings of the Church and not the policies of our party. When it comes to moral issues, use the Catechism as your guide, not political rhetoric.
If only modern Catholics would have the same zeal as our ancestor in faith, Mattathias. Despite all the riches he was offered, he rejected the commands of the king. He would rather die that betray the law of God. Let his words echo in our hearts whenever we watch the news or walk into a voting booth! "We will not obey the words of the king by departing from our religion in the slightest degree."
Deus Volt!
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