At each of these sites, I gave the talk More Than Red and Blue: Engaging Issues from Catholic Social Teaching. Building on the themes of Catholic Social Teaching, I tried to engage a few key social issues using the terminology and coherence of CST and create a framework that Catholics could take with them as they make their election decisions.
I am going to post the full text of my talk here in installments, and I invite you to consider these thoughts on Catholic Social Teaching, social issues, and conscientious Catholic voting. #morethanredandblue
Jump to next parts of the talk here, or at the end of each part:
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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So let’s start here: in early 2009, I was a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. On a lazy Sunday afternoon in the section common room, I got a text from my brother, a Notre Dame alum, that President Obama would be our commencement speaker later the year. Initially, I was really excited and delighted that Notre Dame would have such a noteworthy speaker coming to campus. However, my initial excitement was quickly overshadowed by furor. In this day and age, we love to rally behind populist anger, and one of my first memories of such internet-fueled rage came in the following days and weeks. Critics raged against the university, asking, “how could we invite someone who supports abortion rights?!” Some people came out in complete and total opposition. Others were ok with his coming to campus and speaking to the graduates but took issue with his receiving an honorary degree. Still others were happy that he accepted the invitation to speak and were excited for the dialogue that could ensure. There were also those who were 100% supportive of the whole thing.
The exciting and sometimes scary thing was that it turned Notre Dame into a zoo. On a semidaily basis, students, faculty, alumni, and others had letters to the editor published in the campus newspaper, which made for good dining hall fodder and spurred fascinating conversations around campus. Family members and friends were checking in with us, asking how things were on campus and giving their thoughts on the situation. The scary part came from the strong opposition. Frequently, a small plane would fly over campus, making laps with various banners towed behind it, sending messages of disapproval to our university leadership and displaying images of aborted fetuses. Additionally, a nationally known anti-abortion protester came to South Bend and took up residence in town to personally spearhead demonstrations. At one point, people following his lead pushed bloody strollers on to campus that had gory dolls graphically displayed; these folks were removed from campus for breaking campus policy that limits demonstrations to approved student groups.
Now as a sophomore, I didn’t have a ticket to commencement in our basketball arena, but I was excited to follow along on TV. University-wide events such as this put our university president, Fr. John Jenkins, on display. Now Fr. John has settled in to a nice groove at Notre Dame and has done a solid if not terribly exciting job as president. Fr. John is a fairly diminutive, skinny little man, and at that time, he had only been president for a few years. The only thing that many knew abut him from brief encounters was that he had an infamously limp hand shake (Dan: At this point, I would demonstrate on someone). So I was quite delighted when, in an excellently crafted speech, Fr. Jenkins hit eloquently on the realities of politics and polarization in America and blew me away. He said,
Differences must be acknowledged, and in some cases cherished. But too often differences lead to pride in self and contempt for others, until two sides – taking opposing views of the same difference — demonize each other. Whether the difference is political, religious, racial, or national — trust falls, anger rises, and cooperation ends … even for the sake of causes all sides care about.
When we face differences with fellow citizens, we will be tested: do we keep trying, with love and a generous spirit, to appeal to ethical principles that might be persuasive to others? Or do we condemn those who differ with us for not seeing the truth that we see?Then he addressed the elephant… or rather the donkey… in the room, speaking directly to President Obama:
As we all know, a great deal of attention has surrounded President Obama’s visit to Notre Dame. We honor all people of good will who have come to this discussion respectfully and out of deeply held conviction.
Most of the debate has centered on Notre Dame’s decision to invite and honor the President. Less attention has been focused on the President’s decision to accept.
President Obama has come to Notre Dame, though he knows well that we are fully supportive of Church teaching on the sanctity of human life, and we oppose his policies on abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Others might have avoided this venue for that reason. But President Obama is not someone who stops talking to those who differ with him. Mr. President: This is a principle we share.
In a country that is so fraught with political polarization, where difficult social issues are so thoroughly spelled out with familiar arguments and buzzwords that become so charged up that they instinctively rub us the wrong ways, our faith calls us to something more. There’s no better time than during an election year to put our faith in action, so tonight I want to invite you to reconsider some key social issues in terms of Catholic Social Teaching. We’ll cover just a few, but it can help spur you to further thought because though the Church cannot be a political party, because the truths we strive to live out transcend any political system, the Church and its members should be political.The full text of Fr. Jenkins' introduction of Pres. Obama at ND Commencement '09 #morethanredandblue https://t.co/1efpnulGdx— Dan Masterton (@jesusandchicago) July 21, 2016
I will say up front that, personally, in terms of party affiliation, I am an independent, and in terms of ideology, I am a moderate. I have always voted split ticket and have voted for candidates from both parties at all levels in various elections. When it comes to America’s political parties and ideological poles, I believe that Catholics cannot be compelled toward either party or political ideology because the beliefs we hold based on the truths revealed by God are too nuanced and varied for either of the two-party system’s platforms. To give a few examples, Republicans oppose abortion while supporting the death penalty, and Democrats are vice-versa; looking at other life issues, Republicans widely oppose comprehensive immigration reform and basic gun control while Democrats widely support physician-assisted suicide and free, liberal access to artificial birth control and abortifacients. You see no party can make a total claim to us, so we have to be critical and active in making decisions in voting that best try to put our faith in action. ‚This is huge, so let’s tweet that out. I feel that the two-party system creates a faulty dilemma that makes us feel as if we only have two choices, when choosing to be independent gives us the ability to choose freely based on individual politicians and the social climate of each election.
They say that if you want to keep the peace and have a nice time on social occasions, you’re not supposed to talk about religion or politics… but here we go anyway... Let’s raise a toast: to young adults and our contributions to the Church, for others’ openness and receptivity to our witness; and for our country, our politics, and our elections, that we can prioritize what is right and good above shallow, superficial considerations or petty competition. Cheers!Neither party can totally claim Catholics, so we must be critical, active voters that carefully put our faith in action. #morethanredandblue— Dan Masterton (@jesusandchicago) July 21, 2016
So, I find that reframing issues in new terms with new perspective can be a strong way to reengage issues and evolve my understanding. So when it comes to politics, elections, and social issues, rather than falling in line lockstep with any party or platform, our Catholic Social Teaching gives us a different framework to filter these challenging issues through, one that can hopefully come to your ears and hearts with less loaded connotations. Tonight will not necessarily decide who you vote for, but our time together could help you figure out how to critically engage with your Catholic identity as you conscientiously discern your voting decisions, especially pertaining to social issues. So, get ready for a whole lot of shades of grey! – but, like, we’ll keep it to 49 or less. On the whole, it may leave us with more questions than answers, but our questions will be better, fuller questions. It will all be rooted in the Gospel, and will point us toward the truth at the core of these issues rather than the anger and derision at which we too often stop in frustration.
So, for starters, let’s dig in to Catholic Social Teaching by looking at its origins and its primary calls. Catholic Social Teaching is a tradition of Church teachings that reaches throughout our entire history but was first formalized in 1891 in the encyclical Rerum novarum, written by Pope Leo XIII. An encyclical is a letter by a pope written to people of good will; popes write in response to a particular context that prompts them to deliver timeless teachings. In Rerum novarum, Leo was responding to the Industrial Revolution, specifically the nature of work and the rights of workers, including wages, conditions, and more. In the last 125 years, several encyclicals, letters from bishops and bishops’ conferences, and other documents have articulated Catholic Social Teaching. ƒThe ideas can be organized into 7 primary themes:
1. Dignity of Work and Workers’ Rights: Christ calls us to uphold the inherent value of work so that a just wage and a just economy can serve the individual and society.
2. Care for God’s Creation: Christ calls us to preserve the world by being good stewards of it as God’s gift to humanity.
3. Rights and Responsibilities: Christ calls us to protect access to the things that everyone needs so as to live justly for others, society, and ourselves.
4. The Call to Family, Community, and Participation: Christ calls us to uphold the domestic church as the basis for fostering belonging and active involvement in society.
5. The Preferential Option for the Poor and Marginalized: Christ calls us to consider people who are poor or marginalized in every decision we make individually, communally, and socially.
6. Solidarity: Christ calls us to love and be mindful of every single person as our brother or sister.
7. The Dignity and Value of Human Life: Christ calls us to view and treat all human life as inherently and completely valuable in all forms and at all stages.
Coming up next in Part 2: applying CST to the basic principles of each party.The calls of Christ in the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching #morethanredandblue pic.twitter.com/zqR2nKf7IR— Dan Masterton (@jesusandchicago) July 21, 2016
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