I am Catholic. I grew up in an Irish Catholic family in an Irish Catholic town. I am strong in my faith and am grateful for the meaning that it gives my life and the lives of those around me. My Catholic faith builds a foundation which allows me to love others and God, to seek opportunities to become a better person, and to help others find their own paths to salvation.
In recent times I have found myself vacillating between the opinions of parties regarding many questions in politics, social issues, and individual freedoms and obligations. The confusion that often stems from what I know to be true as is told in the Bible and in church teachings, as is told by the opinions of fellow lay people, and as has been made clear to me through intuition, experience, and reflection.
Most issues in our world have become so polarized that any remark of opinion leads to the alienation of individuals involved, and so those left who seek opportunities to express their views either do so for attention, feelings of power, or money. Of course, there are some dedicated people who state their opinions as a virtue of ability; they believe that their involvement in political discourse is altruistically derived and isn’t only bred from their satisfaction in getting their opponents “rekt” or “owned”.
Much of modern American politics has become nothing more than boastful gossip, judgment unto others taken from the lofty soapbox of infinite information which we now hold in our hands. Even at Holy Cross, resentment has been bred from arrogant judgments; I have personally witnessed such vehement hatred coming from those who associate with both parties that I am hesitant to write an article about politics for this column, as it may turn my peers against me. But as Christ said “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged,” we too must seek objectivity in our actions and opinions lest we stray from His will. “For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-7:3)
How does this apply? you may ask. How can politics function without proper judgment and trial? While it’s true that only through thorough reasoning and debate can we develop sound, objective, and principled arguments, that’s not to say that what’s acceptable in political debate is appropriate elsewhere. Freedom of speech doesn’t protect us from others’ freedom to regard us, so don’t think that it’s your freedom of speech being challenged when grandma asks you to stop talking about it and enjoy your thanksgiving dinner (even if your uncle across the able is so disillusioned in your eyes that it hurts to shut up).
The same goes for social media platforms. Corporations don’t care about what you have to say or whether it is misaligned with their values and beliefs. They’re in it for the money, and so companies will silence whomever they believe to be contrary with the majority of users so as to make them “feel better,” more entitled and more complacent in their little online lives, and thus loyal to their provider.
A problem facing our world today is that we don’t have an appropriate forum on which to project our views. Behind a screen, users don’t have the same social penalty that they do when interacting with others in person. This coupled with the ease of access to information that supports their views (and, subsequently, the ease to disregard information which challenges them) polarizes users in virtual echo chambers, littered with misinformation and hate.
And so in the reflection of our justified judgmentalism, how do we find ourselves in the throes of a system where healthy debate becomes slander, where arrogance and entitlement becomes virtue? I have neither the wisdom nor word count to solve these issues in this article, yet I hope that you as the reader consider the consequences of the means by which you use slander, provocation, or casting of judgment onto those with whom you disagree in the name of righteousness, especially involving individuals who are vulnerable.
Returning to our Catholic and Jesuit identity, it is our duty as Christ’s disciples to uphold our covenant, and above all as we know which is the Greatest Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and that which is equally important: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:29-31)
And as it was made clear that “to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’... is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices,” (Mark 12:33) we must understand that no defense of an issue of political matter is higher an offering to God than our expression of love for and with others. As Catholics, we are called to love each other before we express how we think that another’s actions are immoral. Because in doing so we are not acting according to God’s will to love our neighbor, and it makes it kind of difficult to love someone if they’re attacking your beliefs and values right off the bat, no matter the other person’s intentions.
So then as a Catholic, I believe that no teaching in our catechism should be an excuse for us to not love our neighbor as ourselves. Just as we no longer hold ourselves obligated to ancient ceremonial law, we should understand that the priority of Christ’s coming was to provide us each with an opportunity to find salvation through the love we have for each other and for God. We must use our gift of love as an instrument of unity and understanding before we can use it to enlighten others. As the world deals with its bleak issues of suffering, war, and hatred, we as Catholics must hold ourselves to be the peacemakers, loving and accepting each other for who we are despite all else.