Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
A topic for Sunday. And I'll go right ahead and admit that this won't interest everyone--and maybe not anyone, except, that is, Ricochet member Pseudodionysius. Anyway, here goes:
As an American Catholic, one--this one, anyway--gets terribly, terribly tired of all the babble among the bishops and clerics that equates, wrongly, the social teachings of the Church with ever-expanding government. The most egregious example took place back during the Eighties, when the American bishops issued a pastoral letter attacking Reaganomics at almost exactly the moment when the Gipper's economic policies were prompting what would become the longest peacetime expansion in American history--an expansion (not that folks here at Ricochet don't already know this) that did more to improve the lot of the poor and disadvantaged than any government program, ever. But the drivel continues, even now.
Which is why I found a recent letter in the New Oxford Review so heartening. A few excerpts:
Regarding the discussion of the moral imperatives involved in Catholic economic and social teaching, I’ve read every papal encyclical from the past hundred years several times and have never found an endorsement of socialism. There have been many incisive condemnations of economic exploitation, but never the promotion of an all-controlling state....
Many Catholics get questions of economic morality wrong and have been using their misunderstandings to endorse economic egalitarianism. Disparity of wealth is not a sin, nor is it a sin to be rich. Envy, however, is a sin, as much a sin as the rich ignoring obligations to generosity....
Atheists and other religion-haters have always looked to socialism to ameliorate social problems. Government is the religion for those with no religion. Catholics have no excuse for siding with them.....Many libertarians living in market economies endorse abortion, but its cultural acceptance is not predetermined or inevitable, as it is in states committed to practices of absolute social engineering....
Great wealth may corrupt a rich man’s mind and soul, but the unearned and undeserved power given to bureaucrats, legislators, and judiciaries — who never have to face consequences for being wrong — make them even more vulnerable. There is no excuse for ignoring the day-and-night difference of social benefits between free markets, which have made deserts bloom and lifted hundreds of millions from poverty, and socialist states that treat life itself as a utilitarian commodity of convenience to the state....
Fr. George Ryan, C.S.P.
Port Richmond, New York
I don't know Fr. Ryan--Port Richmond is on Staten Island, which I last visited about 40 years ago, when, showing his boy around New York City, my father took me on the Staten Island ferry for the simple fun of it--but at mass today I intend to offer a prayer of thanks for his existence, his lucidity, and--it can't be easy to stand up to the sloppy moralism of so many bishops and priests--his guts.
Hat tip to my friend Stephen Schmalhofer.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Despite his allegation that atheists and religion-haters "always" look to socialism (the tragedy of Marx's atheism is that it has doomed generations of non-believers to this claim), I agree with Father Ryan that I haven't seen any explicit endorsement of socialism within a papal encyclical. However, I think that Populorum Progressio should raise the eyebrows of anyone professing a devotion to politico-economic individualism.
Edited on Mar 6, 2011 at 10:58amNov '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Well done, Peter. I may be the second interested member of Ricochet. I was born Catholic, but my family, being wheat farmers in south east Washington, are very conservative. Not only that, but the trend toward fiscal liberalism is no less prevalent amongst evangelical protestants than amongst Catholics. It's so frustrating to hear the young folks in my church who are simply on fire to obey the calls of Christ in their life blather on about that which they choose not to understand. There seems to be a decision to accept the inevitable march towards socialism, and that's OK, because really it's not about politics but about serving God. Of course, one can serve God and fight for a free economy, as well. In fact, if one truly wants to help the poor, the best way to do so is to foster economic growth and political change in those countries that are the poorest.
Feb '11
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Well, I'm interested too, being Catholic myself. The church has always been extremely opposed to communism at the very least, and does not really promote socialism. The problem is that a lot of people equate social justice [sic] with charity, and in so doing mistake taxes to be a form of voluntary charity, and this leads to the promotion of horrible policies.
The other problem is that scripture can easily be twisted by interested parties into justification for basically anything. If I spend enough time reading Deuteronomy I'm sure that I can find proof that I need to wear only blue t-shirts.
Sep '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
I have at least 3 or 400 comments coming but I have to run out to a basketball game. Back soon, though. But, this will get you started.
May '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
I'd wager that it is less prevalent among evangelicals compared to Catholics.
Nov '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Michael,
Of course I have no polls or studies to quote, only my experience. Growing up, the serious Catholics where all conservative, with the exceptions of the ones who taught at the Catholic schools. But there a lot of government safety netters (or should I say nutters?) chasing around my church now. Of course, I have to consider the fact that when I was a kid I lived in Walla Walla county (east side of the state) and I now live in Whatcom county (west side of the state.
But the point is the same: there is a shallow belief amongst Christians that responding to the call to charity and giving means abdicating it to the government.
May '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
I'm relying upon anecdotal evidence. From my own experience, if a person is a self-professed Christian and a leftist (or a democrat), then the probability that that person is Catholic is high.
Dec '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Michael Labeit
I'm relying upon anecdotal evidence. From my own experience, if a person is a self-professed Christian and a leftist (or a democrat), then the probability that that person is Catholic is high. · Mar 6 at 11:13am
You may have a point. The big-city government machines were Democrat and for years run by Catholics, most often the Irish. These tend toward the left. On the other hand I am Irish Catholic and certainly no liberal.
Dec '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Thank you, Peter, for posting Fr. Ryan's letter. I served on the board of Catholic Charities in my diocese years ago where I met several people that had taken the "social justice" mantra to the extreme. That always worried me. The Executive Director was a literal stealth agent to get the precursor to Acorn ensconced in the diocese and ultimately came out as an actual - do they still carry cards? - socialist, the only fully admitted one I ever knew and a bit of a scary one at that. What lurks behind the earnest, kumbaya "let's do it for the children" facade is not always pretty. The diocese was loaded with such people at the time under the leadership of a holy and very beloved bishop who was apparently inattentive to certain administrative duties. The place was far off the rails. Sort of like Cuba but without the cigars. Two great Popes and two wonderful ordinaries later the diocese is excellent shape. There was a time when Fr. Ryan would not have been welcome in the chancery. Today he would be. For this I am thankful.
Nov '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
The website of the London(?)-based Institute for Economic Affairs has some interesting posts on this. See for example Philip Booth: http://www.iea.org.uk/multimedia/video/philip-booth-catholic-social-teaching-and-the-market-economy or Philip Vander Elst: http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/research/power-against-people-a-christian-critique-of-the-state-web-publication
We must take the social teaching of the Church back from those whose narrow focus on government bespeaks a perverse need for validation by the secular left.
Jan '11
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Agreed. This is like Christine's question about belief in God. You can't ask questions like this with a 200 word limit. I've spent the better part of thirty years reflecting on these questions; freedom, wealth, solidarity with the poor, social responsibility, etc.
Of course, if you're going to have a conversation in public, which is the essence of Ricochet, you might as well discuss the best topics.
Let me start with this quote from the letter: "Disparity of wealth is not a sin, nor is it a sin to be rich." I agree. It isn't a sin. But that doesn't settle the issue. If you see a man who wants to work to feed his family, but has no opportunity to do so, what do we say to him? Good luck, keep warm and well-fed? We can't be silent nor immobile.
Remember, this is Catholic social teaching, not civil government.
As Catholics, we are committed to helping the poor. We can debate how, but I assert that the welfare of others matters.
May '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Michel Novak's The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism speaks to some of these issues.
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Wow. I'd had no idea so many folks would take an interest. I've got to duck out for a few hours, but I'll be back--at just about the time, I'd estimate, when Pseudodi will begin weighing in with his three or four hundred comments.
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Excellent post, Peter. While not Catholic, I have seen this sort of thing pop up in the Protestant faith as well, sometimes on social issues and sometimes on questions of national security. While a member of the Methodist church, I was dismayed to read their bishops' pastoral letter on the question of nuclear deterrence. This was in the mid 80s, Reagan was defeating the Soviets and the left was having bladder control problems as a result. The Methodist bishops wrote, "In Defense of Creation," which concluded among other things that a nuclear deterrence that preserved the right of bishops to write poorly reasoned letters was inherently immoral. I responded with my letter, "In Defense of Liberty," and sent it to them. They were mildly amused. Years later, with orders in hand to deploy to Desert Storm, I read the bishops' next piece of incoherence, this time saying that our men and women who were evicting Saddam Hussein from Kuwait were the real aggressors in the region. I wrote again resigning my membership. Haven't looked back since. Slandering my brothers and sisters in arms is something I take very, very seriously unlike, say, John Kerry.
Dec '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Does any of this have something to do with the Catholic Church seeking to leverage the power of the secular government to exercise temporal power?
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Michael Labeit: I agree with Father Ryan that I haven't seen any explicit endorsement of socialism within a papal encyclical. However, I think that Populorum Progressio should raise the eyebrows of anyone professing a devotion to politico-economic individualism. · Mar 6 at 10:42am
Edited on Mar 06 at 10:58 am
Pretty certain that Michael Labeit has a point here, I just exchanged emails with a particularly learned priest. Here's what my learned and reverend friend had to say:
Jan '11
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
No.
Jan '11
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
Also, JP2's specifically says "For the Church does not propose economic and political systems or programs, nor does she show preference for one or the other, provided that human dignity is properly respected and promoted, and provided she herself is allowed the room she needs to exercise her ministry in the world." (41)
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
KC Mulville
Also, JP2's specifically says "For the Church does not propose economic and political systems or programs, nor does she show preference for one or the other, provided that human dignity is properly respected and promoted, and provided she herself is allowed the room she needs to exercise her ministry in the world." (41) · Mar 6 at 12:57pm
And now, KC, if we could only get American bishops to--what? Well, I'd propose that they tatoo that statement from John Paul II's Centisimus Annus across their chests--backwards, so they'd read it every time they looked in a mirror to shave.
Jun '10
Re: Why Catholics Don't Have to Be Democrats
When we consider capitalism, we invariably associate it with greed. Here we take the leftist description, and fail to recognize that capitalism, as engaged in by most of us, is moral. Indeed, capitalism is the only moral system that governs our activities. Everything else, including mercantile capitalism, is corrupted by politics. Oddly enough even religion is corrupted by politics (see Dave Carter's post above). Capitalism is moral because all economic associations we enter into are voluntary. No one is forced to drink Coco Cola, just as no one is forced to use Microsoft products. Furthermore, capitalism monetizes power, which fact ensures that those holding political power can never hold "all" the power. The urge here it to complain that monetizing power ensures its unequal distribution, but that would be like complaining that Tiger Woods has too much golfing talent. What socialists never get is that you cannot feed the masses as Christ fed the masses. Society must first bake the bread and net the fish before these can be distributed to the hungry, and that can't be done by hobbling the bakers and drilling holes in the hulls of our boats.