Catholics constitute a historical political swing bloc, not wholly comfortable in the confines of either American political party. Some Catholics, particularly those who attend Church more often, have traditionally aligned themselves with the socially conservative Republican Party. Others, identifying with the Church’s teachings on social justice, have allied with the economically liberal Democrats, who like to claim their redistributive policies are best for the poor.
In the last several decades, Republicans have laid claim to the moral high ground of the sorts the Church unconsciously bestows on one of the two American political parties, as the 31-year reign of John Paul II and the eight-year reign of Pope Benedict XVI were marked by Papal emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and of life. The Vatican went so far as to exhort Bishops to deny Communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians. This, as you might imagine, made life difficult for the likes of Democrats Joe Biden, John Kerry and even Ted Kennedy, Catholic senators and presidential candidates who struggled to wear their faiths on their sleeves while appealing to the ardently pro-choice Democratic base.
Today, argue many liberals, the climate is different. As a recent New Yorker article by liberal columnist Amy Davidson pointed out, Pope Francis has seemingly repudiated Republicans through his acceptance of gays (“Who am I to judge?” he famously asked in 2013), his repudiation of “trickle down-economic theories,” and his planned encyclical on climate change. Davidson seems to think Pope Francis is leading a veritable revolution in Catholic political thought, in which Catholic theology will be dragged into cohesion with American liberal ideology.
But this is not what Pope Francis is doing at all. There are more than a few problems with the lazy media narrative that this Pope “gets it” (with “it” presumably being a euphemism for “the platform of the Democratic Party”).
The first problem is obvious: Pope Francis is not — nor is any pope — a tool to be utilized for the electoral whims of an American political party. When commentators such as Amy Davidson view Pope Francis merely as a political roadblock for Republicans, due to his public ministry, they forget that Pope Francis stands, first and foremost, as the leader of the Catholic Church. This is the very same Catholic Church whose teachings on gay marriage, abortion and other social issues (including, uncomfortably for some Republicans, the death penalty) have not changed under Francis’s leadership. Pope Francis stands for the same Church and the same teachings the last two popes stood for. To distort the implications of his comments to reporters and thus transform Pope Francis’s remarks into some cataclysmic change in Catholic teaching is dishonest.
Pope Francis’ comment on homosexuals in particular has stirred the minds of Democrats. But it is worth pointing out that Pope Francis was merely articulating the teaching that human beings are not the ultimate judges of others, and indeed it is hard (impossible, really) to equate “Who am I to judge?” with “Gay marriage should be legally equivalent to marriage between one man and one woman.” Instead of reading Pope Francis’ remark as a political commentary on marriage, Democrats and Republicans alike ought to find merit in his exhortation to love our gay brothers and sisters with the same love we grant all human beings.
Pope Francis’ economic comments also deserve some consideration, especially given that many on the left find his criticism of trickle-down economics to be a critique of our American brand of capitalism. But there are two major problems with taking Pope Francis’ remarks to mean the position of the Catholic Church is anti-capitalist. First, Pope Francis’ remarks are for the whole world, not simply the United States. Perhaps countries characterized by a more vicious and lawless brand of capitalism (more than a few despotic third-world countries come to mind) should be the ones truly attuned to this message, as opposed to the United States. Second, it is important to remember the Catholic Church has no official economic position, in the sense that, far from endorsing an official economic arrangement, the Church merely desires material dignity for all human beings. Thus, Papal statements expressing skepticism about trickle-down economics (which is, far from an ideology, a pejorative insult of capitalism) should not be taken as an overarching Catholic teaching about free markets.
American Catholics, and indeed Catholics around the world, can rejoice at Pope Francis’ statements of inclusivity and love. But they should be wary of any media narrative that portrays Pope Francis in a skewed light that may be expedient for political purposes. The Pope probably cares very little for American electoral politics; his true purpose, Americans should remember, is far above that.
John Connolly is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at j.connolly@cavalierdaily.com.
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