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Faith and politics bring struggle

By KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
(Email Kara)

It’s been a difficult last few months for many Catholics in America.

The legalization of gay marriage in a couple more states, including Iowa, and Obama’s award at Notre Dame only increased the frustration of many Catholics trying to fight for truth, Mark Thomason, director of catechesis, evangelization and RCIA, pointed out.

As if the struggle to be Roman Catholic and politically active in 2009 needed any more confirmation.

"With politics our faith is non-compromising, but politics is a game of compromise," said Mark Thomason, diocesan director of catechesis, evangelization and RCIA. "How do you reconcile those two - one that says no compromise and one that says all compromise?"

It's not easy work, Thomason admits. But it's work that the laity must do. The church is there to teach and inform the consciences of her people, while it's the laity's job to be involved in worldly matters, he said.

No matter how frustrating it gets, lay Catholics are called to never give up the fight. In a 2002 doctrinal note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life, it stated that the "lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in ‘public life.’” They are to "infuse the temporal order with Christian values."

Participation
When it comes to participation in public life through politics, whether it is supporting a candidate, platform, issue or even deciding to run for office, Thomason said Catholics must ask themselves three questions: Is there common ground? Are we dealing with a rational discussion? Where can we stand pluralism and where can’t we?

Unfortunately, when it comes to common ground, as a person looks deeper at the issues, the answer is usually that there isn’t any, Thomason said.

“People want to say there’s common ground, but I don’t know how you can have common ground with someone who has fundamentally different beliefs as you,” he said.

And the fundamental starting point is the dignity of the human person, he added.

In fact, the doctrinal note states:

“The church recognizes that while democracy is the best expression of the direct participation of citizens in political choices, it succeeds only to the extent that it is based on a correct understanding of the human person. Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on this principle, for otherwise the witness of the Christian faith in the world, as well as the unity and interior coherence of the faithful, would be non-existent.”

There also needs to be a rational discussion, Thomason said, that includes both faith and reason. However, he added, there must be an “enlightened moment” when someone realizes it’s a baby or that marriage is between a man and a woman, and until then, dialogue is futile.

Yes, the nation must meld together, but pluralism cannot be tolerated at the price of our identity as Roman Catholics, he said.

“Seven people forced gay marriage on Iowa,” Thomason said. “There’s no vote, no legislation. It’s a court decision. Is that a pluralism we can live with?”

Action
If there comes a point for action is a question Catholics must ask themselves, he said. That doesn’t mean violence, he said, but it does mean upsetting the norm.

For example, Thomason said, county court recorders forced to give out gay marriage licenses have to ask themselves if they can issue the licenses in good conscience to someone they fundamentally disagree with. It may mean quitting their job.

“Our history of the church has always been one of struggle with the state,” he said. “Jesus was killed by the state. Peter and Paul were killed by the state. Thomas More was killed by the state. The fundamental question for us in politics as Catholics is when do we work with the system and when do we realize the kingdom of God is more important?”

Despite frustration with recent events, there is reason to hope, Thomason said. Like Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to America in 2008, Catholics must remember that Christ is our hope.

“Let’s start giving to God what is God’s,” he said. “Are we investing our time in our church? Are we investing our time in our prayer life? Are we doing those things we know feed us spiritually?”

Catholics can also find ways to make it easier for each other, he said, by finding ways to inform their fellow parishioners. That could mean sitting down with their parish council and deciding to become educated on an issue in order to teach the rest of the members.

Hope is also found in people remembering they are most importantly citizens of heaven and that their kingdom is not of this world, Thomason said.

“So especially as we try to make effects in politics, our first and foremost place to make effects is in our hearts, to be saints and to be open to whatever martyrdom God is calling us to,” he said.

Catholics can’t give up and can’t stop caring.

“We lose when we stop caring,” he said.