GUEST COMMENTARY: Jesus didn’t ride a donkey to the Grand Old Party

c. 2008 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ God hasn’t signed on to any party roster, but you can’t fault the Democrats or Republicans for that. Both parties strive to say they represent religion, and each one heralds the aspects of Catholicism it holds most dear. The Republicans claim to be pro-life, as they define the […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ God hasn’t signed on to any party roster, but you can’t fault the Democrats or Republicans for that.

Both parties strive to say they represent religion, and each one heralds the aspects of Catholicism it holds most dear. The Republicans claim to be pro-life, as they define the issue (usually ignoring the death penalty). The Democrats claim to be in touch with church social teaching, at least the part they’re most comfortable with (usually not the life issues).


Church involvement in partisan politics is a bad idea. James Joyce famously defined the Catholic Church as “Here comes everybody.” When the church aligns itself with one party, it automatically cuts Joyce’s crowd in half. So much for the Lord’s mandate to “Go forth and teach ALL nations.”

A religious house should be a refuge, where one can step away from political madness in search of peace. Church leaders need to help people develop their consciences so they can make good decisions. They need to encourage public servants to be men and women of moral courage. They need to urge citizens to make wise decisions. They can’t do any of that if they turn half of them off.

That does not mean church leaders should shrink from speaking the truth found in Scripture and church teaching even when it is challenging. But taking sides in a partisan conflict often does more to obscure truth than reveal it.

The U.S. Catholic bishops, in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document they approved nearly unanimously last November, state clearly that church leaders are to avoid endorsing or approving candidates or telling people how to vote.

“Clergy and lay people have complementary roles in public life,” the bishops state. “We bishops have the primary responsibility to hand on the Church’s moral and social teaching. Together with priests and deacons, assisted by religious and lay leaders of the Church, we are to teach fundamental moral principles that help Catholics form their consciences correctly, to provide guidance on the moral dimensions of public decisions, and to encourage the faithful to carry out their responsibilities in political life. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Church’s leaders are to avoid endorsing or opposing candidates or telling people how to vote.”

Recent developments show why.

A pastor is supposed to offer comfort, a calm oasis on stormy seas. In the case of Sen. Barack Obama, fiery pastors drove him to resign from his church and to promise not to align himself with a church again until January, if then. This marked a sad moment for religion in this country.

One of my favorite tales is from John F. Kennedy lore. As the story goes, Kennedy was visiting a Catholic church (while still a candidate) when someone reminded him of an Irish tradition: A person has three wishes on a first visit to a church. Shortly afterwards, as Kennedy walked down the aisle, aides heard him pray: “New York, Pennsylvania, Texas.”


It’s a funny story, yet one that shows an important role for religion: To offer comfort and hope to a person. Pictures of the would-be president in church were about as close as political campaigning and religion should ever get.

There are other reasons for concern when religion and politics get too cozy. When a church leader aligns himself with partisan politics, he becomes one more rancorous voice in the crowd instead of a voice of wisdom above it. Instead of being a prophetic voice that focuses people on the moral dimension of political issues, the leader makes the church seem just one of many ranters in the public square. Politics by its very nature is an institution of compromise; the church by its nature holds to that fact there there are certain absolutes. There is, and must always be, a natural divide between them.

In practical terms, church leaders are called to be all things to all people. Each must live in such a way that both a Democrat and a Republican would feel free to seek him out. A churchman’s pastoral ministry is important _ it lets him offer care, comfort, wisdom and the benefits of his prayer life. It’s a ministry that lets him stand in for the Lord himself.

For a pastor, you can’t beat a good priest with brains. But when a churchman gets involved in partisan politics, he’s left his brains at the party headquarters door.

(Sister Mary Ann Walsh is director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.)

KRE/JM END WALSH750 words

A photo of Mary Ann Walsh is available via https://religionnews.com.

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