By Jean Welch Hill–
Now is a great time to be a Catholic advocate! While last year was incredibly disheartening, with federal decisions eliminating or drastically cutting a host of important programs, initiatives and protections, those same decisions have encouraged people to seek more from politics.
Which means many Catholics are turning from political platforms that fail them, to political action based in Gospel values. It is our faith’s consistent ethic of life that speaks to people frustrated with partisan arguments on abortion, immigration, health care and economics. Catholics who have long been engaged in politics seem to be rediscovering the truth that their faith has more to offer them as they grapple with the political times than either party.
Catholics I talk to seek elected officials who respect life at all of its stages. They support Democratic principles on immigration, but not the idea that children in the womb have no human value. They stand with Republicans seeking to protect unborn children, but not their attempts to roll back vital protections for our natural environment.
And these Catholics are becoming ever more engaged in the political process. Though Catholics are not a voting bloc, all levels of government need to hear our individual concerns about legislation offered from a well-considered Catholic perspective now more than ever. Reminding politicians that everything they do should improve the common good, not just the welfare of well-placed special interests or donors, is one of the best ways we can serve our country and our state today.
This may be the era of the “nones,” but if politicians continue to follow political winds that blow far from the will of the people, Catholics could be the ones who change the political winds.
