We are 16 days away from Election Day (Nov. 5th). It has been a very long election season, almost two years! It is no wonder we are worn out with constant exposure on TV with the 24-hour news stations, not to mention social media, countless discussions, even arguments. Some people are hopeful for the future, while others are falling into despair. Who to vote for? Even the Pope remarked about our elections, “to choose the lesser evil.”
We have been told that “religion and politics don’t mix”, or, “politics has no place in the pulpit”, “keep the separation of church and state”, and many other cliché. Of course, nobody really believes that. Those who cry out separation of church and state are the same voices who criticize the Church, the pope and bishops who didn’t speak out enough against slavery, or Hitler, or segregation, or climate change. And nobody excuses the silence with, “Well, politics has no place in the pulpit.”
Pastors, as leaders of their congregation need to assist their people in bringing the Gospel values to bear on the formation of public policy. In fact, if a priest doesn’t do that, it would be a failure and a gross abdication of his priestly office.
When the shepherds speak out against abortion, or the redefinition of marriage, or the trampling of religious freedom, they are not intruding into politics. They are defending God’s rights against intrusive politicians.
We are proud Americans, but we are Catholics first. Our first and most noble calling is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our Catholic viewpoint colors the way we view the world and politics. We perform our civic responsibility with an informed conscience. Our conscience is always, and rightly, the final arbiter of our actions. But conscience is not some sort of free-floating opinion machine. It is the result of proper formation in the light of the Gospel, and experiences outside oneself. Our conscience must be properly informed by the truth, who is Christ and expounded by and taught by the Church. No one should tell you who or how to vote. That is your sacred duty and decision.
Not all issues that we face as a country weigh the same in importance. There is no specifically Catholic solution to immigration, or healthcare, or the Ukraine, etc. We can debate about those issues. We are guided in our discussions by Catholic values of life etc, but we can enter into debate. There are certain other issues of life, and marriage and moral questions that are not debatable.
“Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but to God what belongs to God.” It is more than just a clever escape from the trap set by the Pharisees and Herodians to our Lord. His words establish one of the most important principles in the history of human thought: governmental power and authority is limited, and the distinction between the church and state.
So, there’s a line at which the Church says to the state, “Thus far and no further.” What’s that line? The Church recognizes and respects the state’s legitimate role and independence. The State has the responsibility to secure its borders, protect and defend its citizens and their given rights, work for peace and justice, and maintain the rule of law. The Church’s role is to form consciences and identify the principles for judgment in the public square. The details in public policy are left to those elected with serving the common good.
The right to life, the meaning of marriage, the reality of male and female – such things belong to God. We cannot cooperate in giving them to the State. When the Church speaks out on those matters, she is simply echoing the words of the Lord: render to God what belongs to God.
Many people today feel the temptation to give up their vote: “I don’t like either candidate, so I’m not going to vote.” Or, “It doesn’t really matter, my one little vote.” Faithfulness and perseverance are the two virtues made for times like these. Indeed, times like these help us to develop those extraordinary virtues. Everyone who can, ought to vote, not only on a national level, but on a local level as well. There is a deadly Proposition One here in NY that we need to vote down.
It is important to remind ourselves ultimately, we belong to God, not to a State. We see our world through faith, not politics. We were created for eternity, not just this world. Yes, one should be informed and involved in policymaking – to a degree. But politics is not the only or even the most important thing in this life. If you spend more time on politics than on your spiritual life and prayer; if you spend more time listening to CNN or FOX or other news channels, than listening to the Lord; if you are more concerned about the City of Man than the City of God, then you forgot to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but render to God what belongs to God.
As people of faith and hope, we can’t allow ourselves to be so unsettled by what is going on that we forget to see the hope and the peace, which belongs to the children of God.