Catholicism in relation to US political “isms”
How does one live out their catholic faith while being a member of a modern US political party – very carefully!
Humor aside, it is not always an easy thing to reconcile the teachings of the church with the political ideologies espoused in the current political scene. While I do think that there’s some effort involved, I don’t believe it to be an entirely impossible task.
What got me thing about this was reading about Pope Benedict’s recent homily (http://www.zenit.org/article-34111?l=english) regarding linked destinies and individualism. In the US individualism is linked to conservatism, which is then linked most closely to the Republican Party. So, if individualism a problem, then Catholics ought to be wary of the political part which espouses those beliefs; however, the problem is that this particular party is also the home of the pro-life position in American politics.
Can a catholic reconcile these positions? That will be the question that I will attempt to answer. There will be a lot of ground to cover, so my plan is split this up across three (or so) articles.
Stay tuned!
Pax Christi
Mike