The New (& the Old) Evangelization The pastoral mandate, politicians and religious liberty, part one

Feb 10, 2012

Religious Liberty

On January 20th , the Catholic News Agency reported that “the Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the administration would not expand a religious exemption for employers who object to its ‘preventative services’ mandate.”

In other words, the Obama administration made it known that they would mandate that Catholic agencies, against their will, provide abortifacients, contraception, sterilization etc. in their health care coverage. In fact, these Catholic agencies have until August of 2013 to comply with the Federal health care mandate.

Archbishop Dolan did not mince words when he told the press what he thought of it. He said, “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.” And a day earlier the Holy Father weighed in with these sobering words: “No one who looks at these issues realistically can ignore the genuine difficulties which the Church encounters at the present moment.” Indeed, Pope Benedict’s “Dictatorship of Relativism” is on the march in America.

Asking Important Questions

The question then becomes: Is this threat to religious liberty a political problem or is it a pastoral problem? I pose this question as a son of the Church, as one who loves the Catholic Church and as a spiritual son who wants the bishops, the watchmen of the flock, to succeed in their mission.

To be sure, this is not a time for venting or complaining. Rather, it is a time in our nation’s history to have a serious discussion about the relationship between their pastoral practices and the political threats to religious liberty that are daily mounting.

With a filial reverence, therefore, can we ask if the reluctance on the part of the Catholic clergy to exercise fatherly discipline towards unfaithful Catholic politicians is an effective one? Furthermore, are not the current pastoral practices a departure from the pastoral standards of the Apostles, the Church Fathers and the Saints? And if the Catholic Church holds such exemplary pastors up as models to emulate, then why are we not doing as they did?

No doubt, the current pastoral practice of bishops of reaching out to wayward politicians in order to keep the communication lines open is inspired by honorable intentions. I do not doubt that bishops seek to change the hearts of unfaithful Catholic politicians by using this method. But many of faithful sons and daughters of the Church question if this ongoing conversation between bishops and politicians behind closed doors is what our Lord said should be done.