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Viewpoints
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
Father Peter Ascik
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An example of Catholic integrity in public life
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden was inaugurated as president of the United States. About two weeks earlier, on Jan. 3, Congressman Dan Lipinski, the representative from Illinois’ 3rd District, ended his last term in Congress after being defeated in his party primary in March 2020. Both men are baptized Catholics. Both men are members of the Democratic Party, which has historically enjoyed broad Catholic support. Yet in the same month the political career of one man reached its height while that of the other came to an end. An important reason for the difference in the political fortunes of Joe Biden and Dan Lipinski is the different choices each politician has made about how to live his faith and moral beliefs in public life.
Lipinski has been a consistent and principled pro-life voice in the U.S. Congress. He was one of two Democrats to support a ban on abortions after 20 weeks and recently signed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. He voted against federal funding for abortion and research which destroys human embryos. He voted to ban abortions based on sex or race, and to ban the transportation of minors across state lines for abortion, a concern in combating sex trafficking.
Biden, on the other hand, has been a vocal supporter of Roe v. Wade throughout his career. A vociferous opponent of appointing pro-life justices to the Supreme Court, he has affirmed on many occasions his support for the “right to choose.” As president he has vowed to codify Roe in federal law – which would transform Roe’s limit on government’s power to ban abortion into a positive “right” to end the life of the child in the womb. The 2020 election found Biden moving even further away from the pro-life position of the Catholic Church as he reversed his long-standing support for the Hyde Amendment, a budget rule which prohibits using taxpayer funds for abortion.
It is no secret that Lipinski’s pro-life stance contributed to his primary defeat at the hands of activists in a Democratic Party increasingly dedicated to abortion-on-demand. Pro-abortion groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood endorsed and funded his opponent, who characterized Lipinski as an “extremist.” News outlets cast him as a lonely pro-life voice increasingly out of step with his own party.
But in a press conference the morning after his primary loss, he said, “I could never give up protecting the most vulnerable human beings in the world, simply to win an election… My faith teaches, and the Democratic Party preaches, that we should serve everyone, especially the most vulnerable. To stand in solidarity with the vulnerable is to become vulnerable. But there is no higher calling for anyone.”
On the other hand, Biden has long lived by a compromise that has allowed him to rise in his party. At the heart of this compromise is his separation of personal principles from his public life. In the 2012 vice presidential debate, he said that he accepted the teaching of the Catholic Church on abortion: “Life begins at conception. That’s the Church’s judgment. I accept it in my personal life.” Yet he continued: “I just refuse to impose that on others… It’s a decision between them and their doctor, in my view. And the Supreme Court – I’m not going to interfere with that.” In this approach he follows prominent Democrats like Tim Kaine and Nancy Pelosi who profess the Catholic faith yet disregard the Church’s call for legal protection for the unborn.
When asked why he did not similarly adopt the approach of politicians who separate their personal morals from their public life, Lipinski responded, “if you believe life exists in the womb, you have to support policies that protect that life.”
This expression of consistency between personal belief and public life harmonizes well with the teaching of the Church. St. John Paul II reminded Catholics that even as they live in the world, “There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called ‘spiritual life,’ with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called ‘secular’ life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social responsibilities, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture” (“Christifidelis Laici,” 59).
Catholics can legitimately debate a variety of concrete options for pursuing the common good through politics. Yet we are obliged to stand firm on the fundamental demands of the moral law, rejecting especially the legalization of direct attacks on the human person.
As St. John Paul II wrote: “Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection.” He clarified the obligations of Catholics with respect to these laws: “In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it” (“Evangelium Vitae,” 73).
Biden has crafted a position on abortion that is acceptable to his party and to many voters. It helped him to win the presidency. Lipinski’s pro-life principles cost him his position in Congress. His efforts to protect the vulnerable made him vulnerable. Yet in obeying God rather than men, he has given us a lasting example of Catholic integrity in public life.
catholicnewsherald.com | January 29, 2021
Fred Gallagher
Tempus per annum
Every year at this time I have an overwhelming desire to write about “Tempus Per Annum,” what the Church refers to as “Ordinary Time.”
Ordinary Time is sandwiched between celebratory and penitential seasons of the liturgical calendar. And so, our current iteration of it, right after the Christmas Season and right before the Lenten Season, can be a strange time, in that the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child, especially in a year so burdened with unrest, pestilence and chaos, is a great reminder of the peace to be had when we come down out of the hills to greet Our Savior in His manger. We also gaze upon the Virgin Mother, who will know heartache as none other; and we glance just out of the lamplight to feel the quiet, protective presence of Joseph, who got them all to that cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem. And we will soon begin the penitential silence and beauty of Lent. We will soon anticipate in our spiritual cleansings the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah.
The starlight of Christmas has passed, and the contemplation of Easter is anticipated. So, what is this present moment in the life of the Church? It is Ordinary Time – yet anything but plain or routine, commonplace or humdrum.
There are beautiful but unusual connotations to the word ordinary that bear mentioning. As a noun, an “ordinary” can be one who has been ordained and bears authority to perform certain liturgical and ecclesiastical functions. It can also be an order or form for divine service, as in the “Ordinary of the Mass.” “Ordinal” numerals are ones that follow in a sequence or series and express degree or position in an orderly fashion. And of course, there is “Ordinary Time.” All of these particular references harken back to the root word: “order.”
In Ordinary Time we look to each day not linked to any season but in a sequence of days that follow and days that lead up to. Might the Church be asking me to look and see what is before me, the “stuff” of everyday life that holds in it the possibility of sanctity?
A medieval writer referred to it as the “sacrament of the moment.” See the single rose my wife put in a little vase on the windowsill in the kitchen, watch how our dog comforts herself on the lap of any willing family member or friend, pray that the daily activities of our children might hint to them of the glory of the God who holds them in the palm of His hand (whether they know it or not), find the right word for the right person and express it with a smile…or a tear if that is what the situation calls for.
Find the sacred in the profane. Give order to the chaos by recognizing how beauty often resides in the hidden places of our lives. Explore the virtuous and sweetly diminutive steps of St. Therese, the Little Flower. Let St. Anthony of Padua find something for you that you didn’t know you were looking for. Ask St. John Paul II to help you celebrate your own personhood in each sacrament of each moment, even the harsh and difficult ones – especially in the harsh and difficult ones.
If the theme of the season just past is embracing the Child who came into this world to save us, and the theme of the season upcoming is to prepare us for the great miracle of Our Lord’s rising from the dead to His Father’s loving arms, perhaps the theme of the season at our feet is plumbing the depths of God’s love for us in the everyday gifts He puts before us, one right after another.
He is gifting us with family we love so deeply it astounds us. He is gifting us with co-workers and friends who have become “like family” in our growing affection and care for them. He is gifting us in those who might need us, whether we know them or not: the cry of the sick and the poor. He is gifting us with His creation, every leaf and stem, every hillock and dip, every crash of wave and splash of faces. He is gifting us with difficulty and doubt and confusion and anger so that we will surrender more forthrightly to His love and His Presence. He gifts us with Himself for the calling, at any moment of any day in any season.
These are the absolute glories of Ordinary Time. How extraordinary they are! Let us treasure them dearly in this, the season of the “sacrament of the moment.”
Brian Pusateri
Jumping the line
Have you ever been standing in line for a long time, when suddenly one or several people jump in line in front of you? How does it make you feel? The act of jumping in line – also known as butting, barging or skipping in line – is the act of entering a queue or line at any position other than at the end. Using this analogy, we should ask ourselves: As Christians, are we similarly putting something ahead of God in our lives? What other things are butting in the line before God?
The Bible tells us, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Is God truly first in our life? If someone completed an internal audit of our life – accounting for every hour of our time, every dime of our money and every use of our talents – would their audit confirm beyond all doubt that God is our top priority in life?
When we think of putting God first in our life, this might surprise you, but the
topic of stewardship should come to mind. Why? Because stewardship is discipleship. In the book “It’s Not Your Money: Finding the Peace of Putting Good First,” author Joseph B. Galloway writes, “Stewardship is striving to live as Jesus lived – putting God first. It is acknowledging God as the source and origin of everything we are and everything we have. Everything is a gift to us from God. Once we embrace this truth, in humble gratefulness, we are to make a return to God from all His gifts to us.”
We are called to give our time, talent and treasure in gratitude to God.
In this commentary, I am emphasizing treasure, although that is not to say that time and talent are less important gifts to share.
Proverbs 3:9-10 tells us, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with first fruits of all your produce; Then will your barns be filled with plenty, with new wine your vats will overflow.” Is this the reason to give back? Do we give to the Lord out of a “quid pro quo” expectation? Should we give because we hope to get back? Clearly not. We should give because God, after all, is the source of everything we have, including life itself.
St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Not only should we give back to God first, but we should do so joyfully.
Putting God first means so much more than just tithing our money, yet giving back from our income and wealth is a vital part of stewardship. Are Christians required to tithe? Giving a 10 percent tithe is clearly biblical. If we don’t give 10 percent, does God love us less? No, but it might be a good indicator that we don’t love God enough. It might be an indicator that other financial commitments have jumped in line before God.
Ask yourself: If I am not currently giving 10 percent of my income back to God, who or what things have barged to the front of the line before God? What am I spending my money on? Does God get only my leftovers? Does giving back to God have the primary place of importance in my monthly budget? If not, why not?
To be clear, God loves us whether we give or not. We don’t tithe to earn His love because He already loves us beyond measure. Tithing is not a financial issue; it is a spiritual one. Tithing is not a money matter; it is a heart matter. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
Tithing is something very important to learn early in life. Parents should begin teaching their young children about this important biblical principle. Young adults need to be well grounded in tithing as they begin to make their first big financial decisions. Too often,
young Christians permit things like mortgages, car payments, and college and retirement savings to jump the line. God keeps getting pushed further to the back. Without having first allowed for their tithe and with spending already stretched to the max, God gets only some small amount that is left.
Financial advisors and advertisers tell us that a comfortable life is one that allows spending and doing leisure activities without any money worries. They tell us that this is the way to peace and happiness. People often achieve this level of comfort only to find that they are not truly happy. Something is still missing.
Again, in “It’s Not Your Money,” Galloway notes, “The world’s way to financial peace does not bring us the peace we truly seek. Real peace comes only from God. It comes from obedience to His word and putting Him first in every area of our lives including with our money.”
We get upset when someone jumps in line ahead of us. I wonder how God feels when we allow so many things to jump in line ahead of Him.
I encourage everyone to go online to www.itsnotyourmoney.org and read Joe’s story of how when he, by the grace of God, put God first, including in his budget, he experienced a sense of contentment and peace that is beyond understanding. Isn’t that, after all, what we all truly want?
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as Colossians 3:17 states, ” And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Help me to always keep this message close to my heart. Amen!
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CELEBRATE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
JANUARY 31 – FEBRUARY 6
During the week of January 31st-February 6th, we will celebrate our Christ-centered Catholic school environments where a spirit of joy, courage and service to others is nurtured. Student learning will be highlighted, our accomplishments will be celebrated, and we will enjoy gathering to honor all those who have contributed to our schools’ pursuit of excellence in all things.
Whether your child is starting in Pre-K or finishing out their final years of high school, they benefit from our close-knit community built on faith and virtue. We are dedicated to their educational growth and personal development, so that they can be a disciple of Christ and change the world for the better. Contact the Catholic Schools Office or a school near you for more information.
Charlotte Metro Schools (PK-12) Piedmont Region Schools (PK-12)
Charlotte Catholic High School, Charlotte Christ the King Catholic High School, Huntersville Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School, Charlotte Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School, Charlotte St. Ann Catholic School, Charlotte St. Gabriel Catholic School, Charlotte St. Mark Catholic School, Huntersville St. Matthew Catholic School, Charlotte St. Michael Catholic School, Gastonia St. Patrick Catholic School, Charlotte Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, Kernersville Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School, High Point Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, Greensboro Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School, Winston-Salem Sacred Heart Catholic School, Salisbury St. Leo Catholic School, Winston-Salem St. Pius X Catholic School, Greensboro
Mountain Region Schools (PK-8)
Asheville Catholic School, Asheville Immaculata Catholic School, Hendersonville
