Bishops On Politics

 For WNY Catholic: 9/13/2016

Bishops on Politics: One concern: Justice; But, Many Issues

“As Catholics...Not Single Issue Voters”

Pope Francis: We have “...a fundamental response: to desire, seek and protect the good of others” “...the Church(us) ...must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.” The US Conference of Bishops(USCCB) in their recently published Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, lead off with these exhortations from our current Pope's Evangelii Gaudium. (Go to USCCB Forming Consciences for the full text--39 pages.)

They caution “...Catholic moral teaching provide(s) a moral framework that does not easily fit ideologies of 'right' or 'left,' 'liberal' or 'conservative,' or the platform of any political party.”

They cite “four basic principles of Catholic social doctrine: the dignity of the human person (and right to life), the common good(as opposed to benefits and justice for only select people) subsidiarity (giving people the rights and means to care for themselves, that is seeking to provide justice, first, then charity. Pope Paul VI in his encyclical on “Just Wage” stated that charity is necessary only to correct injustice) and solidarity (concern for all fellow humans, including and especially 'the least of these.' In famous other words, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”)

Forming Consciences continues: “The right to life implies and is linked to other human rights—to the basic goods that every human person needs to live and thrive. All the life issues are connected, for erosion of respect for the life of any individual or group in society necessarily diminishes respect for all life.”

Here's a laundry list of “right to life” items, most culled directly from the Bishops' document and some from the author's experience:

1. No abortion – in addition to legal remedies, which have limited success.*

a. Seek to eliminate the sexual abuse and exploitation of women and, therefore, “unsought” pregnancies.

b. Support women who choose to have the child. The Buffalo Diocese provides great examples of doing just that.**

c. Make adoption easier and more affordable.**

d. Support adoptive parents and the adopting-out mother.**

*Note the number of other crimes that are committed: homicides, thefts, fraud, and hiring of “undocumented” immigrants, all of which are against the law).

**Information on these activities and how you might support them are available through Buffalo Right to Life Unit and suggestions from this writer: goldenjazz59@gmail.com.

2. Care for born children & all persons; with “preferential treatment of the poor:”

a. Parents/families and foster parents

b. “Just wage” or living wage, as described in six Popes' encyclicals, starting with Leo XIII(1891) thru Benedict XVI, and including two very recent saints, St. John XXIII & St. John Paul II

c. Healthy food

d. No physical or sexual abuse or exploitation

e. No violence in home

f. Clean water

g. Medical care, incl. especially, pre-natal and early childhood

h. Mental health treatment for parents, children & all in need, especially Veterans

i. Education, equal education, affordable college

j. No acts against family, including less than “just wage,” excessive employer demands, denying pay, refusing to pay agreed-to-amount, anti-family immigration enforcement, illegal (or unethical) foreclosures, etc.

k. Infectious disease control

l. Shelter

m. Police protection in poor areas.

n. Pollution protection, especially in poor areas, e.g. Flint MI

3. No mercy killing

4. Care of elderly, including reasonably priced health care

a. fair costs for drugs, implements and insurance

5. Care of veterans: esp. no political bargaining with life issues, by requiring unrelated items to be attached.

6. “Just Wage” and need of workers to be able to organize. Cited in 2b. Above.

7. Care of women, similar to #2. above

8. “Justice” (as above)

9. “Common Good”--“The common good indicates 'the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily' (Gaudium et Spes). “...Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible and a right to access those things required for human decency—food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing.” Furthermore, the six “Just Wage” encyclicals say that God's creation belongs to all of us and particularly water, land and air, let alone the fruits of our labor. Further, these should not be appropriated (or plundered) by a few powerful with the rest of us denied access and use.

10. Caring for the weak, poor and the excluded. (Buttressed by the six “Just Wage” encyclicals.)

11. Protecting the Environment: “Protecting the land, water, and air we share is a religious duty of stewardship and reflects our responsibility to born and unborn children, who are most vulnerable to environmental assault.” Further, we're obliged to preserve for future generations.

12. Just distribution of income

13. No economic oppression nor real and virtual enslavement: workers need bargaining rights (six “just wage” Encyclicals).

14. No usury(oppressive interest rates), “recourse to usury is to be morally condemned.” No unethical or predatory bank and business practices, taking unfair advantage of people's vulnerable positions.

15. Peace

16. No racism, or other unfair discrimination: “...society(we) has the obligation to...overcome the legacy of injustice, including vigorous action to remove barriers to education, protect voting rights, support good policing in our communities(including poor areas), and...equal employment for women and minorities.”

17. No death penalty

Author's note: Although, all children are covered in the document, born children are not named among those “most vulnerable.” Yet, a significant percentage are physically, sexually and emotionally abused, neglected, rejected, raised with violent and/or mentally ill parents, and even in this country illegally employed and exploited. We need to be concerned about children out of the womb as well as children in the womb. Further, if we're concerned about children in the womb, we must demand pre-natal care for pregnant women. It's critical to a child's future physical and mental health. “Children are to valued, protected and nurtured.”

More from Forming Consciences: “Catholics often face difficult choices as to how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-informed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic shouldn't vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers or the poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate it essential meaning, or racist behavior, if it's the voter's intention to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.”

“...the fundamental principles that guide these teachings should not be ignored in any case nor used selectively in order to serve partisan interests.” “As Catholics we are not single-issue voters.”

The Bishops urge “a new kind of politics:

• “Focused more on moral principles than on the latest polls
• “Focused more on the needs of the weak than on benefits for the strong
• “Focused more on the pursuit of the common good than on the demands of narrow interests”
• The author would add: Base your decisions on what candidates and parties have done and how they've behaved, rather than what they promise

The author strongly recommends reading this document in its entirety(about 40 pages). It's an inspired piece of work that is a guide for not only preparing to vote, but for being active in the Catholic Church and the community.

We observed that in the several Catholic teachings listed, despite quoting of encyclicals in the text, no encyclicals are included. These are the most authoritative teachings of the Church, next to Ex Cathedra (infallible) pronouncements. Possibly it is because they are fairly long. However we find them to be inspiring. We particularly recommend the six “just wage” encyclicals, concluding with Benedict XVI's Charity in Truth, and, as well, Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium and Laudato Si. These can be accessed at the Vatican website.

The author notes that he writes from his own lens, which involves 16 years of Catholic education, with continued vigorous religious education and practice. He's been active at the parish, diocesan, community, state and national levels, which includes 43 years in criminal justice, 50 years of work and involvement with battered women and their batterers, and 52 years with migrant and immigrant farmworkers and farmers.

Note: quotes are from Forming Consciences, except where otherwise noted.

Bob Golden

Robert E. Golden additionally is a graduate of Holy Cross(Jesuit), has a Master's Degree in Counseling, was a chair of a Pres. Reagan advisory committee, a member of the Bishop Kmiec's Justice and Peace Commission, who has written several articles for WNY Catholic and Buffalo, Rochester and other newspapers, and journals, and reviewed over 50 books at local libraries.

End Republican Congress! That's the "status quo"

“Status Quo? Hell No” (borrowed from a GOP poster) – End Republican Congress!

For 29 of the last 35 years we've had a Republican-controlled Congress. In one of President Reagan mid-terms and Obama's first two years, although a Democrat majority, on many issues, southern Democrats sided with we Republicans.

During that time, our national debt has risen dramatically, budget deficits have risen.

America's middle class has been decimated, while the upper class has become fabulously rich. We Republicans have presided over a redistribution of wealth from the working and middle classes, to primarily the super rich and powerful.

We've had deregulation of banks, Wall Street, business in general, along with business failures, tax-payer funded bailouts and rampant fraudulent practices.

Campaign contributions/bribery(?) have spun out of control, at the hands of us Republicans. A long-lasting, essentially failed bi-partisan effort to reign these in, have been blocked by the Republicans in Congress and the right-wing Supreme Court Republican appointees.

During our tenure, medical costs have dramatically risen. Until 1983, most health insurance was private-not-for-profit. Since 1983, it has become for profit and costs have sky-rocketed.

We Republicans have given drug and insurance industries regulatory and de-regulatory gifts (e.g. Medicare Part D and no Public Option). Result: huge costs to the struggling elderly, the poor and the tax-payer and consumers generally. Further, the huge costs impoverished local and state governments, resulting in reductions of essential services: police and consumer protection, public and mental health.

We've reduced taxes on the rich, in hopes of improving American economy, and in thanks and patriotism they've moved industry to Mexico, China, etc. and moved their money to foreign banks.

Although we say we're opposed to abortion, and had a 7-2 majority in the Supreme Court (6 of them Catholics), in 35 years we've passed no law significantly limiting abortions. Most laws proposed are against women, with no proposed law holding the fathers responsible. Yet, men often call the shots and abusive men often cause abortions. The chance to add a Hyde Amendment piece to Affordable Care Act, was ignored because the Republicans in Congress didn't want to give President Obama “a victory” on universal health care. This was stated by Senate leader Mitch McConnell and others. As far as my party seemed concerned, victory over Pres. Obama was more important than children in the womb and “the common good.”

In 1986, we Republicans passed an immigration law that was supposed to stop undocumented persons from entering the US. We never saw that it was enforced, resulting in approximately 11 million undocumented being in the US for many years. American farming and service industries, primarily, “needed these workers.” Numerous efforts to solve immigration and the injustice and the family problems that attach to this, despite two bi-partisan proposals, have ultimately been blocked by Republicans in the House and/or by Republican Senate filibusters.

Professional organizations have become partisan with financial gain and power their primary goals, rather than good performance and integrity.

Police and regulatory agencies, be they local, state or federal, and education and medical care quality and outcomes have become considerably reduced, mainly at the hands of we Republicans since we took control in 1982.

We've neglected the infra-structure, with many bridges dangerous, roads and public buildings deteriorating. We seem only able to build new, where the most money is to be made (and political contributions generated?). We've played politics rather than having the discipline to take care of what we've expended our tax-dollars on one, two or more generations ago.

Although, throughout history, we've raised taxes to finance wars, we Republicans continued to insist on tax breaks for the rich, during recent conflicts. With the excessively expensive privatization of the second Iraq war (see Joseph Stiglitz's Price of Inequality) our national debt rose precipitously.

Bounce the status quo: No more Republican Congresses. Please! (Except maybe Senator John McCain, who responsibly has led bi-partisan efforts to corral campaign finance, fix immigration, regulate banks, control unrequested military spending and stands up for civil discussion.)

Written by Robert E. Golden, with help from Gary Kent, Gerard Morrisey, Mary Humpton, Brian Chanecka and Patrick A. Golden

Robert E. Golden – Republican, 43 years in Criminal Justice, chair of a Pres. Reagan's advisory committee(four years), NYS Probation Commission(8 yrs.), Buffalo Diocese Justice and Peace Commission, USArmy, Holy Cross (Jesuit) grad, Masters in Counseling, published CJ articles+

Gary Kent – Ran for NYS Assembly, after serving as an Orleans County Legislator, Social Studies teacher, named “Teacher of Year” twice, Albion Betterment Committee, many community activities, author of numerous published political articles and hundreds of letters to editor.

Gerard Morrisey – Assessor/Appraiser, Hearing Officer in Western New York, business owner, local political guru, Fordham(Jesuit) Univ. grad, life-long Republican, who just resigned his Republican registration, many community activities, raised on family farm

Mary Humpton – teacher, guidance counselor, graduate work in History(Cornell Univ.) and Masters in Counseling, numerous community activities, varsity college athlete, raised on family farm

Brian Chanecka, librarian, 2 Masters in Comparative Religions and Information Management, historian, world traveler, did a weekly radio show in Tucson, AZ. Democrat who supports Ann Kirkpatrick for US Senate. and supports an “open border” between all nations, even as Pres. Reagan said he hoped for an open border between the US and Mexico, with people going back and forth freely.

Patrick A. Golden – Sr. Analyst with NYS Legislature, Parish Representative on Albany Diocese Social Justice Council, Graduate of St. Bonaventure (Franciscan) College, Masters in Economics, past analyst with NYS Better Business Bureau.