Don't Give Up on Politics | MSP Catholic

Catholics at the Capitol is a biennial event hosted by the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC), the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. Normally, the event includes in-person meetings with legislators,  but given COVID-19 restrictions, MCC has pivoted to virtual meetings with legislators the following day on April 16th.

For many Catholics who attend the event (whether in person or virtually), it will be a chance to evangelize. In the midst of great social and political turmoil, Catholics at the Capitol will be a hope-filled demonstration of Christians’ solidarity with their fellow Minnesotans.

At a time when the sight of our nation’s capitol buildings evoke scenes of violence and mob chaos, and the People’s House in St. Paul now stands guarded with chain-link fences, Catholics at the Capitol will be a sign to all Minnesotans that the political process is still something open to us all. And as political division continues to escalate in our state, Catholics at the Capitol is a call to political conversion, reminding us all that building the common good is not a matter of Left or Right but rather a task that we must all share.

 
This may sound like a nice sentiment, but the reality is that many Americans, including Catholics, are convinced that politics is corrupt beyond repair. Faith in our political process and institutions is waning. So it is worth addressing here, however briefly: why should Catholics care about politics in the first place? Is it even possible for Catholics to effectively engage the public sphere when it is so obviously broken? And haven’t we lost the “culture wars” anyway? Shouldn’t Catholics just give up on politics? 

On the contrary, Pope Francis has frequently exhorted the whole human family during his pontificate to remember that politics is “one of the highest forms of charity” (Evangelii gaudium, 205). Consider what he said in his last encyclical, Fratelli tutti: 

It is an act of charity to assist someone suffering, but it is also an act of charity, even if we do not know that person, to work to change the social conditions that caused his or her suffering. If someone helps an elderly person cross a river, that is a fine act of charity. The politician, on the other hand, builds a bridge, and that too is an act of charity. While one person can help another by providing something to eat, the politician creates a job for that other person, and thus practices a lofty form of charity that ennobles his or her political activity (Fratelli tutti, no. 186). 

By extension, our participation in politics as Catholic constituents is a similar act of charity, building bridges of civic friendship between politicians and the people they are called to serve, ensuring that the Gospel receives a hearing among those who make our laws, and giving a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. As Pope Francis so memorably put it, “a good Catholic meddles in politics … so that those who govern can govern.”   

But the Pope has also been vocal in his critique of “petty forms of politics focused on immediate interests,” too common today, that “hinder progress towards a different world.” He has called for “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good” (Fratelli tutti, nos. 178, 154). 

 
The politics we need, Pope Francis argues, is politics for and with the people. It is not motivated by power or wealth or hatred of others, but by a true spirit of service to everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable among us. Good politics is aimed not only at meeting individual needs, but at forming a people united in love. Finally, it humbly acknowledges its own limitations, knowing that “what is important is not constantly achieving great results, since these are not always possible,” and is content many times with sowing seeds and initiating progress that will be enjoyed by others (Fratelli tutti, nos. 195-96).
 
Make no mistake, Francis has set the bar very high. If there is one thing that should be obvious after considering these remarks, it should be that good politics will not happen by accident; we have to work hard to make it happen, and even then we cannot do it without the help of God. 

That is why Catholics should never give up on politics. It is easy to point out what is wrong with our political environment today, to complain about it or wish it were different. But we Catholics, especially young Catholics, must step up to do the hard work of building something new and different for ourselves and for the generations that will come after us. 

MCC created Catholics at the Capitol to provide us an opportunity to engage in civic friendship and to chart a new path forward. They put it this way on the Catholics at the Capitol event website: “At a time when polarization and partisanship are pulling us apart, the world needs the Church more than ever to renew public life by building bridges of friendship, especially with lawmakers.” While so many exhaust their time and energy cursing the darkness, MCC invites us to light a candle and be part of the change. 

But Catholics at the Capitol is just an event, and whether or not you attend there is still much more work to do. It is worth noting that under “Ways to Get Involved” on MCC’s website, “Vote!” is listed last. In other words, casting our vote on Election Day is just one part of what it means to “meddle in politics” – and in some ways, not even the most important part. MCC encourages Catholics to also do the following:

1. Learn about the issues and inform yourself on Catholic Social Teaching
2. Attend advocacy or issue-related events in your community, or tune in to legislative hearings that interest you
3. Sign up for a mailing list from the Minnesota State Legislature 
4. Learn who your legislators are, and contact them to discuss issues that matter to you

MCC also has its own Catholic Advocacy Network and you can sign up to receive Action Alerts that enable you to email, call, or even send a video with just one click to your legislators on important issues. You can join the network here.

My friends, when it comes to politics, don’t give up. Stay involved. You can learn more about Catholics at the Capitol and register to join in-person or virtually at www.CatholicsAtTheCapitol.org. To get a 50% discount use code: BringAFriend. 

You are a necessary part of building something new and better, with the help of God.

• Dorothy Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. 
• Oscar Romero
• Pope John Paul II
• Mother Teresa 
• Thomas More

 
Sarah Carter lives in St. Paul with her husband, Will, and her son, Elijah. She and her family attend the Church of St. Mark and are members of the St. Mark Young Adult community. Sarah graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 2014, spent two years serving as a campus missionary for Saint Paul’s Outreach in Columbus, Ohio, and returned to St. Paul in 2016 to begin study for her master’s in theology at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, which she completed in 2019. Now she teaches moral theology and Scripture at Hill-Murray School.