I received an email from a Priest I know who read Fr. Schroth's post below and this was his reaction. Because he is not public with his thoughts and my respect for that, I am not publishing his name - but I simply could not agree more. Thanks for these thoughts Father, and thanks to Father Schroth for his bravery to speak the truth.
I thank Raymond Schroth for his boldness to speak his convictions. As priests we must stand up and speak out and give brother and sister Catholics another option to being told that they are not good Catholics if they vote for someone who stands for choice. I am against Abortion, but not just Abortion in the Womb but every form of it. The Abortion that is killing people everyday in an immoral war, poor education, poverty, death penality, Racism, Sexism, homelessness, no healthcare, and on and on and on. Anything that keeps a child of God from attaining his or her Divine Destiny and purpose is a form of abortion!! - unnamed Priest in response to Fr.Schroth's piece.
Cross posted from NJ.COM
by Raymond A. Schroth September 27, 2008 11:48AM
One school of thought says that because of the separation of church and state and because the priest has a religious role requiring him to rise above politics, he should not run for office or identify himself with any candidate or party. Some add that if a priest takes a political stand he alienates those who disagree with him.
On the other hand, Jesus and his followers often alienated the political and religious establishments of their day. And in Europe there's a history of popes and bishops calling on Catholics to vote against communists and those who contradict church teaching on abortion, marriage and other issues.
Here a handful of bishops declare that candidates who don't agree that abortion must be outlawed are thus in mortal sin, destined for hell, and must be denied the eucharist.
Meanwhile mid-20th century movements like the worker priests and labor priests, and, later, liberation theology have helped priests and religious orders like mine to understand the degree to which both the prophets and the gospels demand that Christians identify with the poor. As a result, more than ever, to be a Catholic today requires not just opposition to abortion, but an end to the death penalty, commitment to economic fairness, and adherence to the conditions for a just war -- conditions violated by our invasion of Iraq.
There is no way I can separate my political, literary, or social judgments from my priesthood. The values that made me become a priest permeate everything I do. Those principles are that our love for one another must reach beyond the boundaries of family, nation, or creed and that national policy should above all protect the weak. For me this includes laws that would lessen the number of abortions, mostly through social and economic reform rather than by sending women who have aborted to jail.
Therefore I will vote for Barack Obama for president and encourage anyone who reads this to do the same and to pass the word. I was born when Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office and gave us hope to overcome fear. A Hudson River aristocrat paralyzed from the waist down, he identified with the helpless. He used his God-given gifts of voice, eloquence, and character to inspire a nation through the depression and World War II. Obama has the basic FDR ideals and political skills, the ability to bring people together and lift then up with his words. Editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama passed up big law firms to organize Chicago's neighborhood poor and teach Constitutional Law before entering politics.
He is a genuinely religious man whose social policies, more than his opponent's resemble Catholic social teaching. Above all, he opposed the Iraq war. Had his views prevailed, 4000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis would still be alive.
Finally, under his steady leadership, America has a chance to confront its racial problems, including the black family breakdown and the plight of young black males who lack both education and hope. No other candidate has even mentioned this problem.
I do not say this from a pulpit. I imply no mroal obligation that you accept my ideas. I simply argue that Obama, more than his opponent, represents a chance for justice and peace.
About the Author
Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., professor of humanities at Saint Peter's College, comes from a Trenton family of journalists, teachers and lawyers. He has taught or served as dean at five Jesuit colleges and universities, plus New York University graduate school and Brooklyn College.
Schroth's eight books include a biography of Eric Sevareid, a history of Fordham, and "The American Jesuits: A History," to appear in October. He is also the media columnist for the National Catholic Reporrter. He writes on religion issues.
|