Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

As the summer winds down and we resume our normal activities, there is something which will soon capture our attention, if it hasn’t already done so. That is, the political campaign. There will be daily polls declaring new favorites on a weekly basis, and debates where analysts look for that witty insight to separate one candidate’s repartee from the other.

Many Americans will be scandalized by the derogatory remarks made by the political opponents. Some will long for bygone days of political civility. But civility was rarely a characteristic in the political arena, even in bygone days. Examine the history of political campaigns in the United States and you will find that even our Founding Fathers could be fairly vicious in their rhetoric and dirty tricks. Remember that the fiercest political rivals will be arm and arm on the stages with their various parties, referring to one another as “my good friend.” Keep in mind that “my good friend” is code for someone I now must deal with out of practical necessity.

There is an interesting aspect of the language of political “speak.” One must understand or be befuddled by its inconsistency. Candidates will declare that they are about “openness and transparency.” What they mean, is that they will be open about what the candidate wishes to disclose or already has disclosed. In selective openness, you’re allowed to be transparent about aspects that the public already knows. In political speak, “transparency” is viewed through an opaque window.

My favorite political phrase that I’m sure will be used often is, “let me be perfectly clear.” When I hear this phrase, I know that either a candidate is changing his or her position, or the explanation that follows will have little or nothing to do with what has been offered before.

We can become frustrated with the whole process and perhaps will want to remove ourselves from the political engagement. But we need to be engaged, because our faith requires us to be.

In his book, “Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput writes:

The Catholic faith should take root in our hearts like a mustard seed of Jesus’ parables (Matthew 13:31; 15:20). No matter how small it begins, the mustard seed grows so strong and so large that it breaks us open and frees us to be new and different persons far better than our old selves; a source of shelter and support for others. The one thing we can’t do with a living faith is remain the same. We must either kill it or become new people because of it. Anything less is fraud. And in like manner, the church should be a mustard seed in society, transforming – not by coercion but by active witness – every fiber of a nation’s political, economic, and social life. (page 53) 

We need to accept our role as witnesses to the faith in the political arena, because the Church needs us to remind society of our responsibility to uphold the dignity of all human persons – to assure all citizens that even in political speak, we are called to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the September 1, 2015 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.