A good Catholic meddles in politics

Published May 16, 2022.

I have long believed that religion and politics cannot be separated, as certain people claim. 

Such a split is, for me, an outdated philosophical and theological way of reasoning. It also overlooks that Jesus of Nazareth was a political prisoner, tortured, executed by the machinations of religious leaders and politicians, but gracefully not conquered. 

Today’s cosmologists, microbiologists, and current pope (e.g., in his encyclical Laudato si') remind us that all of creation is interdependent, symbiotic, and related. No longer can we simply split mind and body, matter and spirit. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church supports this conviction. 

God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle, and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other (CCC, 340)

Thus, let us in Australia approach the remaining week of the federal election campaign conscientiously, and dialogue openly and courteously about the issues facing us as a nation, and as a global community. 

Let us pray about which party and/or candidate will best serve us at this time in our cosmic and human history, remembering no one political party can fully embody every conviction we have. 

Christian faith and Catholic social teaching

Nonetheless, let our Christian faith and Catholic social teaching be our guiding principle, including such principles as the dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, the preferential option for the poor, stewardship of creation, subsidiarity, as well as the role of government and participation.

Together with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), I urge our parishioners and friends in the lead up to the Australian Federal Election next Saturday to use their voices and their votes diligently to advocate for what our bishops and Gospel values identify as crucial issues: the environment, better palliative and aged care, growing poverty, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander peoples, rights of asylum seekers and refugees, religious freedom, and choice of schools.  

To this list I’d add affordable housing, support for young and older Australians with mental health issues, people with disability and bold climate action by 2030, starting now. 

Furthermore, Australia’s Bishops are calling for “a new social contract”, one that promotes the common good without leaving any person or social group behind. 

Therefore, let’s consider deeply “the good we can do in our community by using our vote for the good of all” and promote “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good”; because “our Christian faith calls us to be a missionary people bearing witness to the love of Jesus Christ for humanity. Thus, our beliefs are not a private spirituality, but are to be realized through love expressed in action.” 

Thankfully, Australia’s bishops are exercising strong leadership by raising concerns which various political parties, Teal Independents and others will hopefully take seriously!

This includes, “protection from discrimination and the liberty to run religious organizations on the basis of their faith-inspired mission are fundamental human rights that deserve to be protected. School choice must be an accessible option for all families, particularly for disadvantaged communities”. 

Additionally, the bishops advocate for the protection of Church-run institutions, which educate over 777,000 Australians each year. And they call for policies that raise unemployment benefits and assist people languishing in poverty. 

"The care of the earth" and "the cry of the poor"

Our bishops remain deeply committed to reconciliation and justice for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, insisting that “constitutional recognition and active steps towards reconciliation are fundamental moral issues.” 

All Australians should engage over coming days (and always) in a process of “truth-telling”, listening to the experiences of First Nations Australians and their hopes for the future.” We must insist on a “just, humane, and timely system for assessing claims for asylum” and refugee status.

As far as casting my one precious vote next Saturday, two issues -- which I raised at a recent meeting of the candidates -- will guide me. They are "care of the earth" and "the cry of the poor" (c.f. ACBC Social Justice Statement 2021-2022). 

I listened carefully to the responses of the five candidates (LNP, ALP, UAP, Independent and Greens) at the recent meeting. And since then, I have been musing, speaking with others, praying about what I heard, and reviewing the track record of various parties and individuals. 

I resist being overly influenced by individual personalities, including those of party leaders. Equally, I am trying not to be persuaded and/or manipulated by self-serving media outlets.  

Weeks ago, I wrote to all leaders of major parties requesting "a better kind of politics" and a more dignified level of debate, where character assassination and argumentum ad hominem be seen for what it is -- degrading, disillusioning, and disenfranchising. 

With academic and pastoral interests that include eco-theology-spirituality-justice, I have a dream for myself and my loved ones, my parish and community, my nation and global community. It is a dream that embraces not only humans, but all living beings. 

It is echoed in these words found in the beautiful canticle of St. Francis of Assisi: “Laudato si’, mi’ signore” ("Praise be to you, my Lord”).  

"Our Sister, Mother Earth"

The canticle reminds me that our common homeland is like a sister with whom we share our life, and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.

Praise be to you, my Lord, 

through our Sister, Mother Earth, 

who sustains and governs us, 

and who produces various fruit 

with colored flowers and herbs. 

Dear readers, let us recall that “we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7). Our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air, and we receive life and refreshment from her waters” (Laudato si', 1-2).  

Consequently, let us be faithful stewards of creation, protect her from being desecrated and remember that healthy people cannot be sustained on a sick planet.  

In exercising my freedom next Saturday, I will vote for the candidate/party I trust is committed to addressing "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor". 

Whichever political party and Prime Minister wins next weekend, I hope and pray that Catholic social teaching will guide our nation’s leaders, and that the spirit of Pope Francis' twenty-one references to politics in Laudato si' be their guiding principle, such as the following: 

A politics concerned with immediate results, supported by consumerist sectors of the population, is driven to produce short-term growth.

In response to electoral interests, governments are reluctant to upset the public with measures which could affect the level of consumption or create risks for foreign investment.

The myopia of power politics delays the inclusion of a far-sighted environmental agenda within the overall agenda of governments.

Thus, we forget that “time is greater than space”, that we are always more effective when we generate processes rather than holding on to positions of power.

True statecraft is manifest when, in difficult times, we uphold high principles and think of the long-term common good. Political powers do not find it easy to assume this duty in the work of nation-building (LS, 189).

Michael Dyer is a presbyter of St Mary Star of the Sea Parish, Milton, in the Diocese of Wollongong (Australia).