Was the Papal Visit Political?
by
Christopher Dodson
Executive Director
North Dakota Catholic Conference
May 2008
(For related story, see Reflections on my Visit to the White
House to See Pope Benedict
XVI.)
Did the Pope talk about politics during
his recent trip to the United States? The answer to that
question depends on how you define “politics.”
“Politics” can have different definitions.
Sometimes it refers only to words and actions concerning
candidates or political parties. This is how the Internal
Revenue Service defines “political activity.”
Federal law prohibits churches participating in this type
of “politics.” The Holy Father did not engage
in this type of political activity. For that matter, the
U.S. bishops, the United States Catholic Conference of
Catholic Bishops, and the North Dakota Catholic Conference,
do not engage in this type of “politics,”
although some people might describe their activities as
“political.”
When used in that sense, “political” refers to
activities related to the development of public policy.
Sometimes those activities are very specific, such as
taking a position on a particular piece of legislation. The
federal government does not consider this type of activity
“political,” but some people do.
If we use this definition, yes, the Catholic Church engages
in “politics.” She has no choice. As Pope
Benedict XVI reminds us in his first encyclical,
Deus Caritas
Est, politics
concerns justice and justice has to do with ethics.
Moreover, politics is an exercise of reason, but reason is
purified by faith. “Here,” he writes,
“politics and faith meet.” While the Church
does not propose a specific political system, She does
teach and guide on matters of faith and morality; matters
that inevitably impact politics.
Moreover, the Catholic Church, as one of the largest
providers of social services in the world, has practical
experience to provide to those developing public policies
that impact care of the human person. To withhold this
counsel would be a disservice to the common good and
contrary to the principles of democracy.
Even in this
sense of the word “politics,” however, the pope
said little during his U.S. visit. He talked of working
toward an immigration policy that respected families, of
the need to protect the family, marriage, and the dignity
of all human life, and of the importance of addressing harm
to the environment and global climate change. We know that
he and President Bush discussed Iraq, Africa, Lebanon, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the need to
“confront terrorism with appropriate means that
respect the human person and his or her rights.”
Beyond this, however, the pope said little concerning
specific issues and never mentioned any existing or
proposed policies.
Detractors, bloggers, and some members of the press tried
to make the pope’s comments more
“political.” When the pope merely spoke against
violence toward immigrants and the importance of preserving
immigrant families, one politician accused the pope of
playing politics in an attempt to recruit immigrants into
the Catholic Church. Not able to find juicy political
sound-bites in the pope’s speeches, some reporters
and bloggers turned to writing on which political figures
did or did not receive communion. The subject, of course,
has nothing to do with what the Holy Father said during his
visit and is, ultimately, a pastoral, not political,
matter.
Yet Pope Benedict XVI’s visit was full of political
implications. In the broad sense of the word,
“politics” is about the ordering of society and
is, therefore, about the human person. Nothing about the
human person can be detached from fundamental truth about
our origin, destiny, and being. We are created in the image
of God, for God, and related to God. We are social
creatures, connected in visible and invisible ways to each
other. Understanding and living according to these basic
truths about the human person has political consequences.
The Holy Father spoke of the importance of truth against
the “dictatorship of relativism.” This message
has political consequences. If there is no truth or if the
truth is unknown, politics becomes an expedient vehicle
benefiting only the powerful.
He spoke of the inherent rights and responsibilities of the
human person. This message has political consequences. If
rights and responsibilities are not inherent, but are
merely given or taken away by those with political power,
people become mere tools, the worth of whom depends upon
their perceived usefulness.
He spoke of hope in Christ. This message has political
implications. Without hope, politics becomes pointless and
debased. Without Christ, who conquered death and is our
hope, politics becomes an instrument of the culture of
death.
Did the Pope talk about politics during his recent trip to
the United States? Yes. The Holy Father preached the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
