Saints in Society
Is the Church Political?
Sherman Kuek, SFO
Published in Catholic Asian News
(April 2009 Issue)
Contrary to the notion among certain segments of society that the Church should “go back to the sacristy”, Christian believers are becoming increasingly aware that they are very much the Church in the world. In an address in July 2008, the Holy Father Benedict XVI spoke of the need for “evangelising the world of work, the economy, politics, which requires a new generation of committed Christian laypeople capable of seeking with competency and moral rigour solutions of sustainable development”. This was no new teaching, for it was a mere resonant echo of Vatican II’s Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, 1965, point 5):
Christ's redemptive work, while essentially concerned with the salvation of men, includes also the renewal of the whole temporal order. Hence the mission of the Church is not only to bring the message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.
In this light, the Church undoubtedly needs to be involved in politics in order that her voice finds adequate representation in temporal affairs. Her political participation purposes to uphold divine justice, honesty and defence of true and authentic values like the safeguarding of human life, marriage and the family. Political isolation is not an option for the body of Christ-followers who desire the coming of the Kingdom of God and who consistently pray that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. Where Christian presence is too negligible in the political sphere, insufficient influence will be exercised over the state of secular affairs. For this reason, Pope John Paul II was unflinching in his assertion that political participation was a key for the evangelisation of society.
What has been said so far hopefully mitigates misconceptions that the Church is dispassionate about political participation. It seeks “the renewal of society in all its strata through the interplay of the Gospel truths and man’s concrete total life” (Quoted from the Canon Law Society of the Philippines). It is thus evident that the Church does not want to restrict its influence to the sphere of private morality and only within churches; it is not meant to do so.
However, the discussion needs to be brought further than this. The Church is not just concerned for the importance of political participation, but also in the manner of this participation.
The political participation of each particular person goes back to the issue of vocation. Beyond the common priesthood of all believers, it is for each believer to discern together with the Church his/her calling to specific vocations. Some find themselves being called to the ministerial priesthood, others to the religious life, and yet others are called to fulfil the mission of the Church in the world as lay people embodying the secular way of life.
When we speak of the involvement of the Church in politics, we are referring first of all to the laity, that portion of the Church which constitutes more than 99 percent of its membership. It is through the laity that the Church finds its most direct involvement in the political sphere.
For those who have chosen the secular life, by virtue of their being laity, it is their specific and proper role to “become actively engaged in their responsibilities in the professional, social, cultural and political world” (Christifideles Laici, 1988, point 2). Such laity are primarily called to be agents of change in the world; this is a responsibility proper to their role in the light of their baptismal vows. They are to bring Christ and His Church to places and circumstances where only they can go, and make fruitful vineyards where only they can labour: in their families, workplaces and communities, and in political affairs (Ad Gentes Divinitus, 1965, point 21; Apostolicam Actuositatem, 1965, point 14).
While most remain ordinary citizens endowed with certain rights common to all members of society, some laity eventually move on to enter the realm of politics as politicians. Laity should, if it is their discerned vocation (within their already established vocation as laity), concede to take on leadership positions in society in order that the temporal affairs may be directed towards the will of God. As politicians, they would naturally have to be aligned to specific political parties, according to how they think the common good can be best upheld. But most importantly, they should be people of integrity who seek to contribute to the achievement of good governance. They are to act in accordance with the mind of the Church, for it is the common faith of the Church that should guide and shape their conscience as officeholders.
As members of society, laity are to practise their rights as citizens by upholding freedom and the common good of all, which should be the political goal of all Catholics. Since they profess the Catholic faith, their political choices should be assessed in the light of the faith. The moral teachings of the Church are the standards by which the values and conscience of both officeholder and voter should abide. This would (or should) include Catholic principles such as compassion, justice and charity that would serve as guidelines on issues like taxes, education, foreign policy and immigration reform, among others.
The laity have a rightful duty to strive to be heard in the public square. It is their duty to ensure that the moral teachings of the Church are publicly advocated in such a way that they can conscientise, inform law and public policy, and not be artificially confined to the private domain of personal belief.
In their patriotism and in their fidelity to their civic duties Catholics will feel themselves bound to promote the true common good; they will make the weight of their convictions so influential that as a result civil authority will be justly exercised and laws will accord with the moral precepts and the common good...
Apostolicam Actuositatem, 1965, point 14
The laity should work along with ecclesiastical hierarchy and turn to the clergy for “guidance and spiritual strength” (Gaudium et Spes, 1965, point 43). They should not, however, expect ready answers from the hierarchy for every social and political problem, for finding such solutions is the practical responsibility of the laity guided by the wisdom of the Church.
In certain instances where public authority becomes oppressive, Catholics are bound to obey the laws of the state insofar as they do not contradict divine law. But no parliament, legislature and court has the authority to defy divine commandments or to command obedience to laws and regulations that are contrary to the natural moral law. Whenever such an abuse of authority occurs in the political system of a nation, its Catholics must take all legal and political steps necessary to defend themselves and their fellow citizens.
Furthermore, they may be obligated to exhibit conscientious objection, civil disobedience, non-cooperation and other forms of non-violent resistance in accordance with the natural moral law and the Gospel (Gaudium et Spes, 1965, point 74). Should such steps become necessary, the unity of Christians and non-Christian believers in God and their willingness to suffer will ultimately overcome the abuse of state governmental authority.
Bishops and priests are, primarily, shepherds of souls. Their role is to instruct and to remind voters, candidates and public officials of the moral obligations and social principles that should guide their political actions. This is the sphere of political activism specific and proper to their vocation.
Two provisions of the 1983 Code of Canon Law expressly forbid participation by clerics in certain types of political activity:
Canon 285, §3: Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices, which entail participation in the exercise of civil power. This provision means that priests cannot assume public offices which entail the exercise of legislative, administrative and judicial authority.
Canon 287, §2: Clerics are not to have an active role in political parties and in the direction of labour unions unless the need to protect the rights of the Church or to promote the common good requires it in the judgment of the competent ecclesiastical authority. Priests cannot engage in partisan political activity unless in a particular case, this is truly required by the good of the community, and receives the consent of the bishop after consultation with the priests’ council and, if circumstances call for it, with the episcopal conference.
Permanent deacons, even though they are clerics, do not fall under these prohibitions but these apply also to members of religious orders (c.672) and to members of societies of apostolic life (c.739).
These canonical prohibitions to priests and bishops are in line with the pronouncements of Pope John Paul II. To an assembly of religious priests in Mexico in January 1979, he asserted: “You are not social directors, political leaders or functionaries of temporal power… Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel if we ‘dilute’ our charism through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems”. This exact position was reiterated in Manila, the Philippines, on 17 February 1981.
In Zaire, he similarly exhorted the priests: “Leave political responsibilities to those who are charged with them. You have another part, a magnificent part; you are ‘leaders’ by another right and in another manner, participating in the priesthood of Christ, as his ministers. Your sphere of interventions, and it is vast, is that of faith and morals, where it is expected that you preach at the same time by a courageous word and by the example of your life.”
It is therefore clear that as a general rule, priests and bishops are not to hold public office that calls for the exercise of civil power, and they are not to engage in partisan politics. As the Synod of Bishops of 1971 categorically affirmed, priests “must keep a certain distance from any political office of involvement”.
However, priests are not at all excluded from political activity. In certain circumstances priests are not only allowed, but even obliged to engage in political action. The same 1971 Synod document states:
Together with the entire Church, priests are obliged, to the utmost of their ability, to select a definite pattern of action, when it is a question of the defence of fundamental human rights, the promotion of the full development of persons and the pursuit of the cause of peace and justice.
If the election of a particular party clearly seriously endangers the rights of the Church or the common good, for example, then members of the clergy, like all other citizens, are not only allowed but are obliged to prevent the victory of such a candidate or party.
Bishops and priests, therefore, may undertake non-partisan types of political activity, involving the defence of human rights, the promotion of the full development of persons and the pursuit of justice and peace, when such activity does not entail holding public office that calls for the exercise of civil power.
That clergy have competence in proclaiming the moral principles governing politics and laity has competence in active, direct, partisan politics is a good guiding principle. Bishops, priests and religious must refrain from partisan politics, avoiding especially the use of the pulpit for partisan purposes, to avoid division among the flock they shepherd.
Even as they are fully entitled to lay down moral guidelines regarding elections, bishops and other members of the clergy have no special competence to indicate the best persons to vote for. Much less can they oblige the faithful to vote for a certain candidate. In the matter of choosing candidates, lay people should know that they enjoy and should exercise their Christian freedom. The Council of Vatican II reminds pastors to “respect and recognise the liberty which belongs to all in the terrestrial city”.
Such is the manner in which the Church’s political involvement is regulated. It almost leaves no room for a confusion of roles on the part of all the faithful of the Church. At the same time, it calls upon each member of the Church to be utterly aware of the state of affairs in the world.
A new state of affairs today both in the Church and in social, economic, political and cultural life, calls with a particular urgency for the action of the lay faithful. If lack of commitment is always unacceptable, the present time renders it even more so. It is not permissible for anyone to remain idle.
Christifideles Laici, 1988, point 3
Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, ends his letter Catholic Participation in Political Life (10 October 2004) as follows: “May the Lord be good to us and give us the courage to participate in political life with consciences truly formed by the faith that comes to us from the apostles.” Let it be so.
