As Catholics our Faith must absolutely govern our politics. This blog is a Catholic blog, but especially in an election year, naturally there is much that needs to be said about politics. We have no business being involved in the political life of our nation if our Faith does not drive our political decisions.
That being said, we do not put our trust in princes, but in the Lord. Our devotion is to our God, not to any political party. Obviously, as the Democratic Party has become increasingly secularized and hostile to religious values, particularly those concerning life and marriage, most practicing Catholics have found it impossible to support that party and have worked to better our country through the Republican Party. We must always be careful, however, not to see the party as an end or to give the loyalty that ought to be directed to God to any political party.
While we must keep these things foremost in mind, I believe the time has come to become very active in ensuring the defeat of the Democratic Party at every level of government. As strong as my political language tends to be, I almost never direct it in this way. But today I’m mad, as we all should be. This Thursday, March 1 we saw the Democrats in the Senate defeat an attempt to roll back President Obama’s insidious contraception / abortion / sterilization mandate, which is an inexcusable anti-Catholic, anti-American attack on the freedoms protected first in the Bill of Rights, namely those of religion and conscience.
It was one thing when the President pushed forth his mandate. He is one man and by now we should have come to realize what we’re dealing with in the Oval Office. But when the Senate refuses to act to curb this abusive, unConstitutional aggression, we need to look beyond just the man at the top of the party.
Why did they refuse to act? Are the Democratic senators really so morally blind that they support what the President has done? Or is it simply politics? To men and women of good will that’s not the first question. The first question is, what do we do about it?
I wish I had all the answers. I can do no more than brainstorm suggestions. First, we need to be vocal. Newspapers and Congressional offices around this country should be hearing from us non-stop regarding what we think about this. We must defend ourselves. Encourage good senators to keep the pressure on, to keep these bills coming. The good news is that among average Americans, the mandate is overwhelmingly opposed, including by 56% of registered Democrats, according to a recent USA/Gallup poll.
We need to mobilize. Check out organizations like catholicvote.org or anything else that can bring Catholics together to defend our Faith and the values in which we believe.
We also need to make sure that after November Democrats are harder to find in Washington than World Series are in Chicago (sorry, Cubs). We need to sacrifice our time volunteering for campaigns, and our treasure, donating what we can. If Mr. Obama loses this November and the Democrats lose the Senate, this evil mandate will never be put into force. But there is no time to waste. We have to get active now, and support our bishops, who are speaking with one voice against this injustice.
Look for ways to get involved, and most of all, pray! Your Confirmation demands it. We have the opportunity now to defend our Faith against a government that is growing more hostile and even tyrannical. If we don’t win in November, it will get much worse.
