Do Politics and Religion Mix?

Question:

Jesse & Terry, you should not make any comments or statements that touch on politics on Catholic radio.

Answer:

Archbishop Fulton J Sheen said “The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passion conviction.” 110

The Holy Bible says: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8). “Seek justice, rescue the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17).

Liberal Politicians on both sides of the aisle have given us what Saint John Paul II described as“the Culture of Death” and Pope Benedict XVI described as “the Dictator of Relativism” and Pope Francis has called “the throwaway culture.”

In his daily homily of September 16, 2013 Pope Francis reminded Catholics that we cannot be indifferent to politics or simply sit back and blame politicians for all our problems. “None of us can say, I have nothing to do with this, they govern. No, no, I am responsible for their governance, and I have to do the best so that they govern well, and I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability. Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good…”

It is not true that Catholics should not meddle in politics: Pope Francis said: “‘A good Catholic doesn’t meddle in politics.’ A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern. But what is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer!

So, the Pope concluded, we give the best of ourselves, our ideas, suggestions, the best, but above all the best is prayer. Let us pray for our leaders, that they might govern well, that they might advance our homeland, might lead our nation and even our world forward, for the sake of peace and of the common good.113

Politic (Webster’s) – comes from the Greek word ‘politicos’ which means ‘of a citizen.’ Since I am a citizen of this country, I have a moral responsibility to be involved in politics.

The Catechism says: “man remains free…man has a wounded nature inclined to evil [which] gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals” (CCC 408).

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said: “If by interference in politics is meant judging or condemning a philosophy of life which makes the party, or the state, or the class, or the race the source of all rights, and which usurps the soul and enthrones party over conscience and denies those basic rights for which this war was fought, the answer is emphatically Yes! The Church does judge such a philosophy. But when it does this, it is not interfering with politics,for such politics is no longer politics but Theology. When a State sets itself up as absolute as God, when it claims sovereignty over the soul, when it destroys freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, then the State has ceased to be political and has begun to be a counter- Church.” 45

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a (Protestant) Christian minister, led the movement to persuade government to impose a particular belief on America that all men are equal in the eyes of God. It was a movement that found its deepest conviction in Christianity.46 The Church  is the advocate of justice and of the poor precisely because she does not identify with politicians nor with partisan efforts. The Church’s role is to teach values, guide our conscience and offer an ethical choice that goes beyond politics. The Church teaches moral absolutes simply because their true and not because a Political party may also agree. If you’ve ever heard someone say “Christians should stay neutral on political issues” or “God doesn’t care about political issues” or “Evangelism only matters in eternity – it doesn’t change how a person votes.” You have been targeted by deception, subtle delusions designed to shut down your influence on the direction of American life. The goal of the enemy is to mute Christians by eliminating your viewpoint from the national discourse and to censor the biblical worldview from our culture. We will not be silent, we will continue to preach the Gospel boldly, come what may.

• Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

• Daniel 11:32 “...but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”