Inside the Capitol

Today, people working to advance Catholic social teaching often find themselves in opposing camps, divided along party lines. But the Church’s political work is about putting back together what has been torn apart by a highly partisan culture. In his encyclical “Laudato si’,” Pope Francis proposes integral ecology as a new framework for reunifying the Church’s mission of public engagement.

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When I came back to the Catholic Church 20 years ago, it was due in large part to the Church’s public witness defending the sanctity of life in the womb. Since then, my experience of the Catholic faith has broadened my pro-life convictions into a concern for human life at every stage.

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The annual papal message for the World Day of Peace (Jan. 1, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God) — one of the best glimpses into the minds of the popes regarding social and political issues — offers specific counsel, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, about how to work for peace in our time in light of current events.

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In the aftermath of this past summer’s revelations of sex abuse and cover-up in the Church, there is a tendency for Catholics to slip into an either-or way of thinking about how to respond: Either we cannot “get back to work” until we have adequately addressed the crisis, or, we cannot spare the time to respond to the scandals because the Church’s mission is too urgent.

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In politics today, people have fallen into the habit of condemning the evil in other persons, groups, structures or oppressor classes, while they themselves embrace the role of victim.

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When you read this, the 2018 elections will have passed. The anger will continue to boil, and new opportunities for outrage will undoubtedly abound. The demonization of political opponents will persist, and the saddling of the American presidency with criminal investigations and threats of impeachment will likely become a permanent feature of our politics.

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Faithful citizenship requires transcending the ideologies and partisan divides of our time and working primarily for the salvation of souls, not for short-term political gain on high-profile issues.

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The latest round of revelations related to clerical corruption, abuse and sin are yet another inexcusable abomination that soils the garments of the Church. They severely compromise the integrity of our Gospel witness as heralds of Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Even more, they undermine our moral witness in the public arena, and our ability to serve as a voice of conscience in political life.

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