I See Daylight Again

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

On October 14, 2008 I attended an event at the historic Middle Collegiate Church in Greenwich Village, New York. It was a discussion forum and celebration of the release of Dispatches From the Religious Left: The Future of Faith and Politics in America , a collection of essays (including one by me) edited by Frederick Clarkson.

One of the topics was what the Religious Left could do to be more effective. There was concern expressed on our effectiveness in combating the Religious Right. One contributor, Chris Hedges, citing the decline of, and schisms within the mainline Protestant churches was pessimistic. Another contributor, Debra Haffner, was more optimistic. Either way, I think we are starting to make our presence felt. As a Catholic I see it within my own faith.

For far too long the dominant voice in American Catholicism has been a socially conservative one. And in recent years, we can more accurately describe that voice as socially neoconservative, evidenced by their adoption of Neo-platonic Leo Straussian parlance ("moral relativism" and "nihilism" are good examples). It is one of the principal reasons that I began my own advocacy. I wanted to be part of a movement that would push back against this torrent of unquestioning fundamentalism. Often, I felt as if I were alone in my efforts. And the night has been long and darker that I thougt possible.

The Religious Right - and particularly the Catholic Right - are not going away and are far from having their messages effectively refuted. Regardless of what Jim Wallis may say, they are still a force to be reckoned with. They have emerging elected officials willing to legislate their agenda - GOP governors Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin immediately come to mind.

But there is also something different, something good happening. I am starting to see Catholics - both individual and in groups - pushing back. Here are some examples:

*In the wake of statements such of former St. Louis, Missouri Archbishop Raymond Burke (called the Democratic Party "the party of death" while threatening to excommunicate pro-choice Catholics within his archdiocese) an Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pennsylvania (threatens to deny Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden if he were to try to receive Communion in his home town) up steps Notre Dame theologian Father Richard McBrien who (as reported by the The National Catholic Reporter) stated "Bishops who make a case for one-issue politics or openly oppose a political candidate are in violation of the guidelines set out repeatedly in their own documents on political responsibility"

*In a commentary in the October 16, 2008 edition of The National Catholic Reporter, Lisa Sowle Cahill, professor of theology at Boston College and a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America excoriated Bishops Burke and Martino, reminding them that:

The Catholic church has a problem on its hands. Just weeks before the presidential election, a few bishops and prelates have come dangerously close to making implicit political endorsements by telling Catholics that abortion trumps all other moral issues and lashing out against the Democratic Party.

For those who support an essential role for faith in public life, this is a disturbing trend for both religion and democracy.

Dr. Cahill then went on to remind the hierarchy of some pertinent history:

The Catholic church has a long tradition of speaking about the perils of preemptive war, the obligation to pay workers living wages and the dangers of unfettered free-market capitalism. Franklin D. Roosevelt drew heavily from Catholic social thought in shaping his New Deal agenda, which advanced minimum wages, labor standards and economic policies that challenged monopolistic concentrations of wealth.

U.S. bishops issued influential statements in the 1980s challenging Cold War nuclear proliferation. In our own era, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops warns against unjust war, promotes the dignity of all immigrants, recognizes health care as a human right and calls for an end to capital punishment. Along with abortion, the U.S. bishops' election year statement also says racism is an intrinsic evil and identifies torture and the targeting of noncombatants as acts that can never be justified.

*When the leadership of the Knights of Columbus attacked Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden in a September 19, 2008 letter (signed by Carl Anderson, the organization's Supreme Knight) published in USA Today, the Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and the  Delaware News Journal for being a pro-choice Catholic the K of C leadership was refuted from unexpected quarters: their own rank and file.

As the Catholic News Service recently reported:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Upset with a letter critical of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. for his views on abortion, some Knights of Columbus are preparing to introduce their own Web site backing Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Led by Rick Gebhard, a member of Knights of Columbus Council 853 at Guardian Angels Parish in the Lake Michigan town of Manistee, Mich., the group planned to unveil its Web site, www.knightsforobama.com, by Oct. 3.

Gebhard continued:

"Basically, I read it, and as that letter ended, it said Mr. Anderson was speaking for all Knights," Gebhard told Catholic News Service Sept. 30. "He wasn't speaking for me."

Gebhard, a member of Boston-based Catholic Democrats, said he contacted the organization to discuss how he could respond to Anderson's letter and learned that several other Knights shared his disagreement with Anderson. Within days of the letter's publication, Gebhard decided to pursue the Web site option.

And as the third degree Knight concluded:

Gebhard said he supports Obama because "his policies are closer to mine on Catholic social teaching." In explaining his support, Gebhard cited the Illinois senator's stances on meeting the needs of poor people, increasing access to health care and the need to shelve the concept of pre-emptive war.

So what does this mean?

All of the above are examples of American Catholics pushing back -- academics and ordinary folks. And they are doing so against the icy indifference of those in a hierarchy bent upon unquestioning obedience, even when that obedience demands the faithful to turn a blind eye towards a multitude of traditional social justice issues sacrificed in an all-consuming obsession with abortion.

The struggle against the Religious Right will go on. Perhaps it will never end. Nevertheless, I am optimistic.

I see daylight again.