Why Don’t Catholic Leaders Endorse Candidates?

Last updated on: January 29, 2016 at 9:22 am by Deacon Greg Kandra

Why Don’t Catholic Leaders Endorse Candidates? 2016-01-29T09:22:23-05:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

With last night’s debate still fresh in the public memory, Michael O’Laughlin has a good explanation at Crux:

Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote, said lay and ordained Evangelicals often see steering fellow believers toward particular candidates as part of their job, whereas Catholic priests and even some lay heads of Catholic organizations are much more reticent to engage directly in politics.

“They don’t see a need to invite the sorts of divisions that politics often brings,” he said.

John Gehring, whose book about the political landscape of the US Catholic Church, “The Francis Effect,” agrees.

“Catholic teaching views politics and public life as essential parts of serving the common good,” he said. “But most Catholic clergy recognize that even the appearance of an endorsement undermines the Church’s ability to speak truth to power and offer a moral framework for our policy debates.”

…Then there is the issue of ecclesial structure, which may make it more difficult for Catholic clergy to show support for specific candidates.

Evangelical pastors are free of central oversight, able to run their churches as they see fit, which may include heavy political involvement if they so desire.

Catholic bishops and priests, on the other hand, operate within a strict hierarchical model, one in which public endorsements of political candidates are discouraged.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops released a document last March reminding Catholic dioceses and parishes that the IRS prohibits them from endorsing political candidates, and urging them to tread carefully when it comes to political activity.

Some dioceses add another layer of restrictions.

For example, Catholic dioceses in Virginia tell Church employees that they “must make clear that they are not acting as representatives of the Church or Church organizations,” if they engage in partisan political activity.

I touched on this subject a couple years back at Patheos, and noted a priest who seemingly supported a candidate for mayor of New York, by appearing in a TV ad for him. I noted at the time:

It seems perilously close to violating the political activity guidelines of the IRS (particularly since he’s doing it in his capacity as director of a nonprofit Catholic food pantry.)

A reader later wrote to add that canon law does have something to say about clergy and political activity:

Canon 285 directs that “clerics are to refrain completely from all those things which are unbecoming to their state, according to the prescripts of particular law.” The canon continues in §3: “Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power,” and §4 forbids clerics from “secular offices which entail an obligation of rendering accounts. . . .” Canon 287, §1 reminds all clerics that “most especially, [they] are always to foster the peace and harmony based on justice which are to be observed among people,” and §2 directs that “they are not to have an active part in political parties and in governing labor unions unless, in the judgment of competent ecclesiastical authority, the protection of the rights of the Church or the promotion of the common good requires it.”

Archbishop Charles Chaput has also weighed in on this subject back. From an essay in 2008:

It’s very dangerous for the Church to identify with one political party. It’s not my business to tell people to vote for John McCain or Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. And while I worked for Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign as a volunteer when I was a young, I don’t think any Catholic should feel comfortable today in either major political party—Democrat or Republican.

But that doesn’t really get us off the hook, does it? The problem is that the Church teaches moral truth, and truth has obligations for human behavior—including the social, economic, and political kind. The Church is never mainly a political organism, but her witness for justice always has political consequences. For example, killing unborn children is a form of homicide. It’s a profound attack on human dignity, because all other rights depend on the right to life. It’s not the only important issue facing our country. But it is the foundational one at this moment in our nation’s history. We can’t ignore it. Cooperating in abortion or quietly tolerating it is a grave evil. We can incrementally seek to restrict and eliminate abortion, but we can never accept it as a so-called right. And if that truth inconveniences one or another political candidate, well, that’s their problem. It’s not the fault of the Church.

It is the job of Catholic laypeople to change the thinking of their political party and their political leaders with the tools of their Catholic faith. But it is the job of priests to give people those tools—to form Catholic laypeople to think and act as disciples of Jesus Christ, in a manner guided by the teaching of the Church. Just as Catholic laypeople should be the leaven of Jesus Christ in the public square, so we priests need to be the leaven of Jesus Christ in lives of our people.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 28, 2016

Spokesman Explains Why Lutherans Received Communion at Catholic Mass

Next Post

January 29, 2016 Year of Mercy Tally: Over 1.3 Million Have Participated So Far

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized Vatican VATICAN vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Samson's mother?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hannah Ruth Manoah's wife Delilah

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »