Deal Hudson on Five Things Every Catholic Politician Needs to Know

By Deal W. Hudson, Ph.D.
6/10/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In spite of the articulate efforts of leaders like Deacon Keith Fournier, there exists a deep division among Catholics who consider themselves pro life and those who embrace the moniker of 'social justice.'

Here is a list of practical advice to the Catholic politician who, like Rep. Chris Smith, attempts to represent the faith without caving in to the pressures of the secular, and Catholic, "progressives." The list could be longer, but these are the essentials. The 2010 election saw a new generation of pro life, pro family Catholics elected to the Congress: This freshman class is already the announced target of an intense effort by "progressives" who will attempt to twist their concern for the budget as "anti life."

Deal W. Hudson, former Chairman of Catholic Advocate and former publisher of Crisis Magazine, is co-founder and partner in the production company Good Country Pictures and is airing his weekly radio show 'Faith and Culture' over Guadalupe Radio Network.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Any earnest Catholic who either runs for political office, or is attempting to hold office, deserves both our admiration and our prayers. Because it is the Catholic politician, more than the politician who identifies with other religious traditions, who finds himself or herself immersed in a series of volatile crosscurrents that, if not surveyed in advance, can drown a candidacy and even a career.

But it's precisely the earnest Catholic politician, as I put it, who assumes knowledge of the Catholic voter is acquired by years of practicing the faith. Well, yes and no. Certainly any practicing Catholics should have been schooled in the fundamentals of their faith as applied to politics and political policy. Yet, the chronicle of Catholics in politics over the past fifty years shows this not to be the case: The marked differences in what Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) and Rep. Chris Smith (R, NJ) believe to be a Catholic approach to politics illustrate the present state of affairs. Indeed, the majority of Catholic members of Congress over the past fifty years have come from the Pelosi mold, rather than that of pro life, pro family Chris Smith.

Catholic politicians need to know their faith, that is axiomatic, but what follows is not just a list of first principles, which is available in numerous Church documents. Here is a list of practical advice to the Catholic politician who, like Rep. Chris Smith, attempts to represent the faith without caving in to the pressures of the secular, and Catholic, "progressives."

1. If you are Republican, pro life, and pro family, at least half of the institutional Church will be disposed to oppose you. I can't remember all the times I have talked to Catholic candidates who are completely bewildered by the antagonism they have encountered among various parts of the institutional Church, from the parish and chancery to the bishops and their conference. (I will leave an explanation of that antagonism to another day, another article!)

2. The legacy of the "seamless garment" is real and remains a matter of constant vigilance in Catholic voter outreach. In spite of the articulate efforts of leaders like Deacon Keith Fournier, there exists a deep division among Catholics who consider themselves pro life and those who embrace the moniker of "social justice." It's fatal for a Catholic politician to assume this division can be ignored because it distorts the Church's teaching that social justice begins with respect for the unborn and vulnerable lives.

3. "Social justice" Catholics will go to the most outlandish lengths imaginable to find fault with the pro life records of Catholic politicians and to defend the pro life credentials of those who are pro abortion or, as they prefer, "pro choice." Under the banner of caring about human life "after birth," this "progressive" Catholic crowd will elevate any and all of their political priorities to the pro life category. For example, if a Catholic member of Congress suggests an entitlement program does not need to be expanded by, say, 5%, the Catholic "progressives" will scream and yell about "abandoning the poor," and the pummeling will begin.

4. The good news in all this is that "progressives" constantly give their version of the Catholic politician bad advice. They recently led President Obama into the briar patch of denying religious liberty to Catholic institutions by demanding they pay for contraception and sterilization in their health insurance plans. The argument was that most Catholic women use contraception, therefore, Catholics will accept this historical encroachment on religious liberty. It never occurred to any of Obama's religious advisers to consider that the Catholic woman who does use contraception may cringe at the thought of the federal government demanding the Catholic Church pay for her birth control pills! A big distinction here - evidently lost on the Obama administration.

5. Catholic voters, for the most part, do not like to be talked to like evangelical voters. Catholic politicians who adopt an evangelical style will win some Catholic support for their "bold" tone, but much more support will quietly edge away in discomfort. It's not complicated, just follow the first rule of rhetoric: Know your audience! Or, to put it another way, one size does not fit all! Avoid a self righteous, moralizing tone with Catholic voters, but state clearly your commitment to life and marriage while extending that concern to those in society who need the maintenance of the government's "safety net." Catholics are a compassionate people who wince at the language of "cut backs" and "smaller government," unless these notions are explained in a way that allays their fears that the poor will be abandoned.

The list could be longer, but these are the essentials. The 2010 election saw a new generation of pro life, pro family Catholics elected to the Congress: This freshman class is already the announced target of an intense effort by "progressives" who will attempt to twist their concern for the budget as "anti life." Whether or not they survive will depend on how successfully this freshman class responds to the attack, or, even better, inoculates themselves in advance.

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Deal W. Hudson, former Chairman of Catholic Advocate and former publisher of Crisis Magazine, is co-founder and partner in the production company Good Country Pictures and is airing his weekly radio show "Faith and Culture" over Guadalupe Radio Network.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: politics, seamless garment, socialjustice, faithful citizenship, political participation, catholic action, Republican, Democrat, progressive, liberal, conservative, Deal Hudson,

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

John Mainhart
11 months ago
I see thingts somewhat differently. I think that christians like Chris Smith will never be permitted to explain his reforms so that some social justice Catholics will be able to accept his suggestions. If he called a press conference to explain the reforms the press in this country would consider the explanation as too long and they would either present one line of the presentation so we could speculate on the meaning of his proposal or they would spin it as mean spiritedness. If he went on tv the questioner would interrupt his explanation because they are only interested in controversy not the truth.
The only solution to this problem is for social justice Catholics to obtain the proposal and study it to see if it is truly just. In our present society,where most resist the hard work that is needed to ascertain the truth, I would have to say that political Catholics leaders that are true to their Faith and pursue the truth have an uphill battle.
If a soul finds the process I just mentioned too difficult then he might consider this. This is the richest country in the world and by far the most generous. We spend much money on the less fortunate through our charities. In addition this government keeps spending more and more money to make sure everyone possible is taken care of. It seems to me that if we were more reasonable about what our needs are, we could easily take care of those people in other parts of the world who are more needy than we. You could say that we think in terms of the last soul who is given as an examlple of need and generalize from that instance because we want to make sure that our social justice system is perfect. It isn't and it never will be because it is sin that causes a great deal of the suffering in the country and we can't fix that with service unless it is personal. It is the love given freely by a soul of God that changes things, not services.
Robert Burford
11 months ago
I have read and reread this article.The list could be much longer but it comes to the point of who is in the pews that call themselves Catholics. Too many of us are cafeteria catholics. We pick and choose. My position to those cafeteria politicians who do and who call themselves Catholic and still receive communion in their churches is to become Protestant. They give the Catholic church a bad name.In todays Mass readings in Matthew 5: 17-19 in the beginning of the sermon on the Mount Christ says that He came to fulfill the law and not change it. He finishes by saying that no word can be changed.The problem with the Progressive movement and the rest of the Christian world is interpretation. Some things are pretty clear. Please read Exodus 20. However, Christ left us His Church and the Holy Spirit to lead us.The trouble is that we do not listen.Scripture discribes the process when Peter had a dream about unclean food which caused the early church to refrain from the blood of strangled animals, meat sacrificed to idols and illicet marriages. The process was simple. Led by His church leaders. We do not take a vote in the pews but are led by the Holy Spirit and God's appointed leaders.My advice to all Catholics who do not support the Church in Social Justice issues and prolife from the cradle to the grave is to consider switching faiths.
Paul-Emile leray
11 months ago
An interesting article. A few points: Christianity, Democracy, and the American Ideal; written by Jacques Maritain; offers wise insight. Next, faith to the exclusion of reason risks going too far into superstition. Reason, to the exclusion of faith, risks in being alive from the neck up. Political correctness, moral relativism, utilitarianism, even many so called social justice programs; all are at risk of falling into sophistry. While on the surface many often appear to care for the poor, even social justice programs can at times fall into mere sentimentality. Social justice programs keep certain people in the business of remaining in business. Doctors need to keep their patients thinking they are sick and ill if they wish to keep the hospital full, is how one wise man and writer once worded it. Politicians? The last thing they want is for people to be independent, wise, critical thinking, objective thinking, free individuals. It is much easier for them to manipulate lost, weak, vulnerable, desperate souls who are frightened out of their wits. Terrorize, infantilize, control; this is what governments do. And if you happen to be Socrates, be prepared to be poisoned by the authorities or at the very least defamed and ridiculed! Your articles are interesting. Thank you.
Paul-Emile Leray
Don
11 months ago
The author makes five good points, but I wish he included more points and maybe included some recent examples. It sounds like he has much more to offer us. Finally, it would have been good if the author used the analysis he presented and set forth a roadmap to counter the "progressives".
Bill Sr.
11 months ago
To your point Deal
The people of Israel and their religious leaders were normal every day followers of the God of Abraham. They were offered the truth and light and rejected it. I have to keep reminding myself of this. It’s the only way I can get my mind around the fact so many seemingly intelligent people and especially Christians who can quote every verse of scripture will still go into a rage when it is suggested Obama is anything but the second coming.

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