When thinking through the intersection of Catholicism and public policy, you begin to realize how deep and diverse the Church is. I write as a convert, raised in a Texas Southern Baptist household under the formidable and loving guidance of a family of deacons. There are many striking aspects of Catholicism for the former evangelical, including the realization that disagreement among Catholics is frequent, valid, and even desirable. Disagreement about public policy forces the serious person to think through the reasons for a position, and also to be open to reasonable, well statement arguments. Reflection furthers socialization and the development of cognitive ability. It’s good, in other words, that both Pat Buchanan and a coordinator for La Raza can receive Christ in the Eucharist. We are deeply privileged by the universal, Triune God to enjoy the fullness of the Sacraments.
One thing I admire about the Church is that it is not political, even as it must overwhelm and motivate our worldview. Let us disagree about trade, economic development, immigration, and justification for armed conflict. Even so, all of these issues for the Catholic are considered through the lens of the Risen Christ, who has granted each of us dignity and life. The British Catholic, journalist, and pop historian Paul Johnson defines an intellectual as one who cares more about ideas than people. Catholicism in the public square is an antidote to a depressing and destructive worldview that has infected much of our discourse: the issues of our life are essentially a cosmic joke, part of a rootless circulating fiction of existence about which we can know little. For the Catholic considering public policy, however, everything has importance because Christ so painfully embraced humanity. We may disagree about much, but never about the fundamental dignity of the human person. We cannot care about anything more than actual people.
Converts, myself included, often struggle when muddling through huge Catholic claims. This organization was founded 2,000 years ago? The Holy Spirit protects “Apostolic” teaching authority? The fullness of Christian worship is found where? But perhaps one overlooked claim is the unification of all life into a coherent whole. Catholicism wants to take the scattered universe and put it in order under the charge of Jesus, God With Us. He not only knows the truth, He is the Truth. For all its many faults, this Church comprised of sinners does try to include everything. For nearly every issue we may face, there is a Saint whose life can serve as an example of confronting the challenge with Christian humility and service. And of course there is Christ, the source and summit of our existence in the Eucharist, who always calls us to love.
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