Here comes political garbage on social media; some advice for people of Faith!

Well, what once was a grand American tradition and now is nothing more than partisan, bitter, nastiness is apparently underway.  With the growing reality of Presidential candidate announcements, including one very high-profile announcement due tomorrow, it might be time for many of us to remember: We are still Christians, right?

Obviously this post is directed to my politically involved Christian friends, and because I am a member of the Catholic clergy, I will be politically pointed to my Catholic brothers & sisters and friends!  And yes, this article, though informed by my faith, is not, please focus on the not, is not official church doctrine.  I will do my best, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to cling to church teaching.

In many recent election cycles, I've been amazed as Christians take to Facebook or Twitter and express their partisan politics, express political opinions that completely defy Christian principles, place their personal politics over faith and even get into the practice of name calling and worse, obviously not a very Christian thing to do. 

Now before I go much further let us concede that as a faith, Christianity does not always send a clear message.  The scandal of denomination after denomination creating themselves by breaking away from the one true vine is a cause of Christian political divisiveness.  For us Catholics, we have a moral authority to follow contained in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition(this is not tradition of men as naysayers would have you believe) and the Magisterium, also known as the teaching office of the Church.  For us Catholics, following the lead from our Pope, Catholic Bishop's conferences often provide voting guidelines, and helpful tips when facing the daunting task of voting authentically Catholic and upholding Christian values.

Let it be known here and now that the Catholic Church is not Democrat or Republican and the Church does not/will not endorse a candidate.  Yes, she may, as circumstances dictate, call out a candidate who is completely misrepresenting authentic Catholic teaching.  But still, the Catholic Church does not endorse.

The bedrock for Catholic political involvement is upholding Bible principles as taught by Jesus Christ.  Foundationally, the first political principle that MUST be followed pertains to life.  Here is how the Church expresses that reality:

The Right to Life and the Dignity of the Human Person

All people are created equal in the image and likeness of God and therefore have the same right to life as anyone else regardless of stage of life and physical or mental

capabilities.

The Catholic Church teaches clearly that the Right to Life means that political views, opinions and candidates that support things like abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage, artificial contraception, and even support of the death penalty be avoided.  Some of these things are considered intrinsically evil and must be avoided at all cost.  In other words, something like wholesale support for abortion by a politician is a non-starter.  Now politicians will present us with confusing points of view.  It is not all that unusual for candidate A to be for abortion but vehemently opposes the death penalty.  Then candidate B comes along and presents themselves as so Pro-life, will never support abortion, well maybe with exceptions, and to complicate that further, is conversely full throated in support of the death penalty.  The Church provided guidance in an example of this.  To oversimplify the matter, in this imperfect example, the voter, if properly formed by conscience and informed of mind and heart, would vote for candidate B; the lesser of two evils.  With the idea that life is first and foremost, let's consider what else the Christian should consider and the Catholic is obliged to consider:

Call the Family, Community and Participation

Humans are social beings. The family is the central unit through which people grow and learn about God and as such should be strengthened and supported. We are not isolated individuals, but part of a society that is called to work together.

Rights and Responsibilities

Human dignity is respected and the common good is fostered only if human rights are protected and basic responsibilities are met. Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible, and a right to access to those things required for human decency – food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing, freedom of religion and family life.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Jesus taught us to live by his example. In the Gospels Jesus spends his time with the poorest and most vulnerable people. We must live by his example. Today there is an ever-growing gap between the richest and the poorest. The mission of the Church has always been to raise people up and care for their humanity. First John 3:17 teaches us that we must care for those who have less than us.

The Dignity of Workers and the Rights of Workers

Business and the economy serve the people; people do not serve the economy. Employers should be contributing to the common good of all people through their products and employment, not just looking to make a healthy profit and allow a few people to get rich at the expense of others.

Solidarity

Even if we are not all baptized Christians we are still equal in dignity in God’s eyes and part of the God’s creation. If one suffers, all of humanity suffers. To be in solidarity is to commit to the well-being of others, not simply a shallow distress at other people’s misfortunes.

Care for God’s Creation

The earth is a gift from God and like all gifts from God we should cultivate it carefully and responsibly. How we treat the environment is a sign of respect for God. The earth is not ours to consume and dispose because we share it with a lot of other people right now and in the future.

Yes, all these things must be considered soberly.  Again, being Pro-Life must include being against abortion.  But being fully Pro-Life includes things like those listed above.  But we must be politically mature, and faithfully honest when prioritizing the above.  For example, as a Christian, it would be silly to vote for candidate who is all about the environment(care for God's creation) but could care less for the poor, hates worker rights and is inconsistent on life issues. 

What all of this means is that it is a serious responsibility to be a voter, it is even all the more serious to be a Christian voter and a Catholic voter. 

When you and I, as professing Christians, get on Facebook and other social media, and promote blindly a candidate who does not support Christian values, or worse, attack the opponent or other side with vitriolic venom, we fail as Christians.  And yes, let me be clear, not being respectful of all, not seeing the human dignity in all, not choosing to use kind words and respectful treatment, is just not right. 

I have personally been clear in past posts.  I will not support candidates who proudly support abortion.  Now that does not mean that I may not share some common ground with them on other important political issues.  But I cannot; will not support abortion.  However, I also do not automatically assume a candidate or a political party is "all that" because they proclaim they are Pro-Life.  Sometimes it is honestly difficult to find a candidate that is truly acceptable when I ponder all the considerations listed above.

Here is the bottom line and the reason I am compelled to write this today: if you are a Christian, and specifically Catholic, try being a lot less partisan.  And if you find yourself partisan, no matter what side that partisanship looks like, decide now why do you post the foolishness you post?  I find it highly unlikely that you and I are going to influence votes with most of the vile crap I see posted election after election on social media.  And then I check your profile and you proudly profess love of God and allegiance to your faith??  While it does not have to be mutually exclusive, perhaps all of us need to ask ourselves from time to time, am I more political than spiritual and do I love politics more that I love Christ and my faith?

For my part, I have visited my past on social media and can clearly tell you that I have stumbled and fallen.  I am happy to note that I have also experienced great growth in my own shortcomings.  I will prayer for continued discernment and for all of us to be politically kind in the next year and a half as well as more deeply discerning God's will for our personal political involvement.

You know I love Facebook and all those who have become "friends" on that medium.  I love hearing about family life, your jobs, your hobbies, travels, holiday fun, and even all those wonderful things about our faiths.  I could care less about your partisan politics as you should care less about mine.  Less keep social media social!

(Acknowledge Voting Catholic website for the area in bold, by Andreas Ortiz)