With election fever reaching an ever-increasing pitch, it is worth reflecting on the role of Catholics in the political and social arena.
Sadly, locally and elsewhere, Catholics seem largely ineffective and indifferent to defending core Christian values. Too often, many of us who profess the Catholic faith do not uphold and defend their Christian heritage in the public arena. They just join the throng in following their own narrow interests by giving their vote to the highest bidder.
Catholics, more than others, have a grave responsibility to interest themselves and participate in political life. Christians in general, and Catholics in particular, should actively give witness to, and advance what they believe to be true about key moral issues in public life.
Catholics should actively give witness to, and advance what they believe to be true about key moral issues in public life
Due to the exposure of unbelievable sleaze and corruption, many Maltese dismiss politics as a dirty business. Such a defeatist and generalised attitude plays into the hands of the corrupt and the unscrupulous. The decent and the upright are lumped together with the dishonest and the crooked.
It is also shameful that for partisan reasons, people keep defending the indefensible. It is distressing to see the support given to scandalously corrupt politicians by a considerable number of voters. This is a poor reflection on the integrity and maturity of the average voter. Standing up for what is right should trump narrow sectarian and egoistic interests.
It is true that a stand for true values goes against the spirit of the age and can cost us dearly in terms of instant success and easy popularity. Yet, thankfully, throughout history, the Church has had many who had the courage to take a stand and defend the truth and authentic human values. The martyrs Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher are prominent examples. Today, such extreme heroic witness is thankfully rarely demanded. However, one has to remain true to one’s declared Christian ideals.
At this year’s ‘March for Life’ held in Washington DC in January, the large gathering was addressed by Fr Mark Schmitz, who was the keynote speaker. He passionately recounted the stand taken by his late grandmother who sacrificed her job as a successful head nurse by refusing to participate in abortion procedures. As he said, his grandmother walked the talk. Her stand changed her, and in turn influenced her family and those around her. At the end of the day, principled action resonates in the community and through generations.
Being coherent matters. The higher our social status and our responsibilities in society, the more important and relevant is such uncompromising witness. Unfortunately, we often hear people claiming that their personal views respect Christian values as if this exonerates them when taking public stands diametrically opposed to their professed beliefs.
Our vote will determine the calibre of who represents us. As election day approaches, it is the Catholic voter’s responsibility to insist that those candidates who seek our vote truly represent and uphold our core values. This is all the more important when these values are foundational and impact on the most basic right, the right to life.
Indifference is not an option. As Einstein once said: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”