In an article which appeared in the September 8th edition of the Catholic Standard (the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC), the Archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, emphasized the distinct roles between the clergy and the laity in the political process. His comments are especially newsworthy and relevant during this Presidential election year.
The Cardinal writes: “Each year in which we move toward a national election, I remind my brother priests that we are in the pulpit as proclaimers of the Gospel, not as political leaders. No one elected us as their political representative and there might be serious reason to believe they probably would not.”
He states further: “We are there to present the Word of God. Our listeners, who come from differing political parties and have diverse ideological perspectives, have a right to hear the Gospel and the Church’s teaching on faith and morals proclaimed with fidelity, consistently and courageously and not packaged in someone’s personal, partisan political views.”
Pastors, Cardinal Wuerl explained, have “the very demanding and challenging role of teaching by word and example the principles of our faith. He insists that it is the task of the clergy “to preach and persuade,” and most of all, to teach, in order to help lay Catholics reflect their faith in their everyday lives.
“The clergy’s task of teaching and helping to form the consciences of the laity, as envisioned by the Council and subsequent popes, requires patience in dealing with diverse opinions, fidelity in presenting the fullness of Church teaching and perseverance in continuing to teach, to teach and to teach,” the Cardinal wrote.
He explained further that sometimes Pastors must speak out and address “the moral and human dimensions of public issues and call for the protection of the weak and the pursuit of the common good.” But the situations, the Cardinal stated, “cannot substitute for the leadership of lay men and women. Pastors need to encourage, inform and assist lay women and men in their duty to bring the values of our faith into civic and public life.”
Overall, people of good faith and good will would agree with the statements and sentiments of His Eminence.
The problem arises, however, when the political policies and positions of a certain candidate or Party are so antithetical to the Gospel values that the preaching of the Gospel appears to be a political endorsement of that candidate’s opposition.
Let me be more specific, if I may, even at the risk of offending some readers.
There is no question that life is a right which human beings derive from their very nature as creatures of God and not a right bestowed upon them by the State. The right to life is an inalienable right of all human beings.
Yet, there has been no stronger opponent of this fundamental Gospel teaching than the Democratic Party and the majority of candidates which the Party puts forward and supports for public office.
The language and rhetoric of the Democratic Party in defense of abortion and so-called women’s rights to choose to allow birth or abort their children has been clear and consistent ever since the Supreme Court’s decision to allow abortion practically on-demand in this country.
Abortion and the right to choose are so identified with national Democratic platforms and candidates that an attack upon the policy is instantly seen to be an attack upon its adherents and an endorsement of their political opponents.
This is but one of many examples of Gospel values running headlong into political policies and the election process.
Pastors, consequently, find themselves placed between two opposing forces. To boldly proclaim the Gospel (as Cardinal Wuerl asserts their role to be) and to risk appearing partisan (which His Eminence decries). What are the clergy to do?
Here’s what the clergy have opted to do for the past several decades: be silent.
If they speak of the right to life, if they object to transgender issues, if they assail corruption and the abuse of political power as moral evils, they risk the ire of certain members of their congregation who will complain to their religious superiors. In almost every case, the religious superiors will admonish not the complainers, but the Pastors and clergymen who have been bold in proclaiming, not a partisan issue, but a moral precept.
Finding themselves trapped between an irate parishioner and the Bishop in the same moment, most Pastors have chosen to remain silent and let others in authority speak for them. Of course, the problem is these “others in authority” are so far removed from the immediate impact which a local Pastor has upon his parish that their voices are never heard and the influence of their statements and teachings are negligible.
Catholic Bishops seemingly cower before political power. “We must be careful to respect IRS regulations regarding political speech,” they warn. “We must honor the political diversity of the faithful,” they insist.
True, but must we not also be fearless in confronting moral evil and those who advance it!
Catholic Bishops have succeeded in allowing the Catholic faithful to become political cripples, mute witnesses to the undoing of the moral underpinnings of this country and the evangelical counsels upon which its political institutions were founded.
If the Democratic Party chooses to be the political voice of abortion rights, those policies should rightfully be attacked as foreign to the Gospel of Life and its adherents be singled out as advocates of immoral principles and practices. It should be understood that the Pastor or clergyman who does so is not endorsing the opposition but proclaiming the consequences which moral teachings must have upon our political lives.
Cardinal Wuerl, in his admirable attempt to walk a thin line between preaching and partisanship, encourages nothing but silence from the clergy entrusted to his supervision and care.
The proof is the fact that the Catholic Church in America has no political status or stature. To that effect, the Catholic Church has been useless in advancing and supporting the moral underpinnings of our civilized society.
I oppose Hilary Clinton and the Democratic Party directly, because I oppose practically everything she and the Party advocate as moral evils. If that is seen to be an endorsement of the Donald Trump and the Republican Party, so be it.
If someone is politically offended by condemning such evils so closely identified with Clinton and her Party, so be it. If the Bishop is upset with such statements, so be it.
It’s about time that Pastors and clergy recollect that their first allegiance is to Christ Jesus and His Gospel.
Bishops want to remind their clergy that they should be loyal to their Bishops. True and good.
But, I would remind my brother-Priests and clergy that they will always be loyal to their Bishop if they are first and foremost faithful to Christ and His Gospel.
Where would we be now if such timidity had been manifested against Nazism or totalitarianism? The very same Bishops who counsel the clergy to be "careful" are the same Bishops who laud the courage of Pope St. John Paul II in his bold political stand against Communism. Frankly, I find their leadership sorely lacking in our Church and in our country.
Let us never be fearful in proclaiming what is right and just as God, in Christ, has given us the means to discern these good and noble virtues.
And so, these are my thoughts as we, thankfully and quickly, approach the day on which our citizens will collectively choose their political leaders for yet another Presidential Administration.
May God bless us in our political decisions. May God bless our beloved country always.
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