From a recent talk about immigration and citizenship given by Abp. Charles J. Chaput to the national gathering of CALL (Catholic Association of Latino Leaders):
This is why every attempt at exiling religious faith from our debates over law and public policy is so dangerous. Every such effort contradicts our own history. Religion has always played a vital role in shaping American public morality. That's not an opinion. It's fact. The only thing new in today's discussion of religion and politics is the dishonesty of those who try to frame religion as a threat to public discourse.
Democracy depends on people of conviction fighting for their ideas in the public square--peacefully and respectfully, but vigorously and without apologies. That includes people of religious faith. If we really believe that our Catholic faith is true about God, human dignity and the common good, then our faith has consequences for our private lives and our public behavior--including our political reasoning.
We can't claim to be a faithful husband or wife and then cheat on our spouse. And we can't claim to love God and be a "good Catholic," but then ignore what it means to be Catholic in our business dealings, our social policies and in our political choices. Christian faith is always personal but never private. It either guides our behavior all the time, both in public and in private, or it's phony. And if it's phony, we should stop trying to fool ourselves. We need to be faithful Catholics first. If we're good at that, then every other quality of fruitful citizenship will follow.
We need to remember that America is more than simply "one nation under God." In the case of the United States--in the light of our history and the founding ideas that shaped us as a people--we are one nation because of our belief in God.
Blessed Pope John XXIII often spoke of the Catholic Church as the soul of the world, the pillar and ground of the truth. What that means is this: One of the duties the Church and her people freely bear is to serve the nation by helping it to nourish its soul. That's what the Church always seeks in her public service and in her public witness. Politics is the struggle for the soul of the world. This is why Catholics always will be, and always should be, politically engaged.
Read the entire address on the Public Discourse site.
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