January 28, 2013 – Catechism 2101 – 2109
 
I think if anyone had any concerns about a Catholic being a politician, some of the lines in these paragraphs would cause them some concern, but most of them should quiet those concerns. “By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward enabling them to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and mores, laws and structures of the communities in whish they live.” I think someone could read that and say that a Catholic the becomes a politician is going to try and make laws that force everyone to be Catholic. I think they would be looking at it in an extreme manner, but I see where that fear could be supported by this line. It is true that a Catholic is suppose to evangelize and the a Catholic that is a politician does not stop being a Catholic when they vote on this law or that or write legislation. That they are Catholic will and should flow into those laws.

But that is absolutely no different than any other person or politician and their set of moral values. Any politician that writes a law is writing it from the context of their moral beliefs and if the law is past, those moral beliefs are being place upon people that may not feel the same. Why is there only fear when it is a Christian, and particularly a Catholic, that is running for office? Should I not fear when a homosexual is elected and writes and passes laws that are based on their sense of morality? Isn’t that them placing their beliefs on me? It is the same for any person we elect, that we are electing their moral beliefs. We should expect them to vote based on their moral beliefs, to have a firm commitment to their values and that should be a main reason we vote for them. If they do not have that foundation, they are a feather in the wind and we should not vote for them and really question why they are running.

But, it should ease concerns about some Catholic running for office and thinking that it will force all Americans to be Catholic because several of the paragraphs talk about the freedom of religion. Catholics have a very firm belief that you cannot force religion and belief on someone. I have seen attempts at that on retreats and it always fails and actually does more harm. Catholic teaching is to evangelize and pray and let God do what God does. Even if a nation had a national religion and that religion was Catholic, it would still be a nation that allowed other religions to openly practice. If it did not, it would be going against the Church’s teaching. And many may say that there were times in history where Catholics did persecute religions and not allow freedom, and that may be true and I can fully agree that it was wrong. But past wrongs do not change what is still right. Catholics are not suppose to force others to be Catholic. But Catholics are suppose to believe and live what the Catholic church teaches and to encourage others to follow those rules and show others the love and beauty that flow from them. That means politicians too. They do not stop being Catholic because they run for office and voters should understand that. Catholic politicians should understand that as well and not be allowed to get away with the “I am Catholic, but I can’t vote for this because it forces my beliefs on others.” That is only the case if you pass a law that says everyone must become Catholic. Any law that deals with a specific subject is not forcing people to become Catholic but allowing a Catholic morality to flow into the world, which is absolutely no different than any other politician and their morality.