November 25,
2012 David
Timbs
Miscalculations
Coalition of the Right
In
the months leading up to the US Presidential election, many Christian Churches
and associated organisations were vocal, even strident, in their condemnation of
Obama and the Democrats. The leadership of the Catholic Church also demonstrated
exactly where they stood politically, although the official rhetoric was largely
coded and veiled. The Democrats were frequently characterised as promoters of
the Culture of Death and of policies
the Church regarded as, in some cases, intrinsically
evil. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was, for the most
part aligned, even in collusion with, these very conservative religious groups
and with the more religious elements within the Republican Party. The bonding
element for this coalition was a rather mono-dimensional version of the Pro Life movement but not exclusively so.
The
Pro Life movement has always been
prone to criticism as it is almost invariably identified with limited issues
such as abortion and contraception. While these are important moral issues in
themselves, the Pro Life movement is far too narrowly focused and has become
stereotyped as a single issue advocacy coalition. The cost of Catholic
participation in the Pro Life movement
was that it has taken on the appearance of being blinkered and not sufficiently
focused on the wider moral dimensions of the Social Gospel to which it is
equally bound. Many of these imperatives such as the moral status of the death
penalty, the arms race, economic exploitation of the poor were barely touched on
or sidelined during the election campaign. Catholic Social justice concerns have
historically shared little in common
with the worldviews of fundamentalist evangelical Christians or of the
conservative political agenda. The Catholic Church may well have compromised
itself very badly by being far too closely aligned with the interests of groups
morally marginal to its own.
Another
of the strategies used especially by the political and religious Right was to
play the religious freedom card. Specific appeal was made to the confessional
culture which led to the foundation of the United States and the value system
which has underpinned American society ever since. Little or no attention was
given during the campaign to the fact that a large number of the Founding
Fathers, the signatories of the Constitution, were Deists
and slave owners. This dimension of America’s foundational religious and moral
relativism was conveniently glossed over when the Obama administration was
branded as anti-life and liberty.
The
Catholic Hierarchy: failure of judgment
The
US Catholic Bishops were either dishonest or ignorant when presenting their case
in the debate over the Mandatory Health Insurance. While the scheme covers
funding for abortion and the means necessary for artificial contraception, both
contrary to Catholic teaching, they failed to point out the moral distinction
between material and formal
cooperation in evil. Tax payers in fact fund all sorts of projects which are
possibly morally reprehensible but they need not formally approve these things.
This is where conscience comes into the equation and it is precisely this that
the Bishops failed to acknowledge. People are not compelled or coerced to assent
to immorality.
A
very clear example of a US Catholic protesting both materially and formally is
readily available as a model. In 1982, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle
withheld half of his personal income tax as a concrete way of protesting against
financing the nuclear arms race. For his active resistance he was penalised by
the interventionist action of the Internal Revenue Service.
If the Bishops were transparently honest about moral protest and
resistance to evil they might have gained credibility by referencing the
Hunthausen case, followed suit themselves and urged their fellow Catholics to
follow his example. What the Bishops failed dismally to do was to point out the
moral status of choice in a liberal democracy and that the assertions about
coercion or deprivation of religious liberty are deflections from the deeper
issues. A poster responding to a recent Cathnewsusa article on American Catholics post-election made the
point,
Ya
don’t like abortion, don’t have one.
Ya
don’t like pot, don’t smoke it.
Ya
don’t like gay marriage, don’t marry a gay.
But
leave everyone else alone.
The
getting of wisdom?
The
bishops, with support of ‘coded’ messages from the Vatican, eagerly aligned
themselves with the conservative camp. Their most public initiative by calling
for their very own, now regarded as ill-conceived, clumsily managed and totally
discredited Fortnight for Freedom campaign.
It backfired badly on the Bishops for many reasons principally because they
failed dismally to treat their people with respect and as adults blessed by
Baptism and Confirmation mind and conscience imbued with the gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
The
questionable use sacred liturgical practices for propaganda purposes, the
politicisation of the pulpit, threats of eternal damnation, the invocation of
the martyr-persecuted Church syndrome and the fortress mentality have
contributed little or nothing to the credibility of many American bishops and
clergy. The majority of laity in particular seems to have been very much aware
of the attempts at manipulation, command and control from the top and soundly
rejected them. [1]
In
retrospect, the Catholic Bishops of the USA might have done one of the most
significant acts of service in the history of that country. Unwittingly, they
demystified themselves as astute and prudent moral leaders. They lost
credibility and largely came to be seen as a group of men often with
over-inflated egos, protective of presumed privilege and motivated by sectional
interests. They have demonstrated that all along they have badly miscalculated
the level of independence their Catholic constituency has claimed for itself.
The mass popular rejection of Humanae
Vitae’s prohibition of artificial birth control is a case in point.
The
Bishops have now suffered the consequences of having, for the most part, lost
the respect of their own people. They may not regain it for generations to come.
Unfocused rage and resentment will be counterproductive and serve only to drive
a thicker wedge between themselves and their people. Lay apologists with their
own vested interests and a chip on their shoulders are of no assistance either.
[2] Learning lessons in a spirit of Gospel humility might be a good starting
point in the getting of wisdom. [3]
[1]
For an example of the politicisation of a Catholic devoition by a New
Movement priest in favour of the ‘Fortnight for Freedom’, click here.
See Abp Charles Chaput’s acceptance speech or an award from the Alliance
for Religious Freedom, linked in Michael Sean Winters’ NCR
reflection on Chaput’s Philadelphia address.
Winters believes an important line was crossed which illustrates the
politicization of Catholicism by some US bishops. Chaput has been identified
along with Cardinals Timothy Dolan of NYC and Francis George of Chicago as the
Catholic ‘evangelical’ warrior bishops. See here.
[2]
For the latest volcanic ideological eruption from a resentful and outraged
George Weigel who is expert in manufacturing an endless succession of
self-interested apocalyptic Us/Them
scenarios. Weigel makes a living out of this sort of nonsense. Click here.
[3]
For blogger Mark Silk’s take on the USCCB bi-annual conference in Baltimore,
click
here.For Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s
admonitions to his fellow bishops at the recent USCCB conference, click
here. A familiar message from
Benedict XVI on the evils of secularism can be found here.
David
Timbs writes from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.