Am I a Christian Catholic Before I am an American Citizen? 

Earlier this past week, during the confirmation hearings of ACB, I came across a tweet from a friend & former colleague of mine who is now a Bishop. In the tweet he was recommending how his parishioners should vote on or before November 3. 

I worked with this man when he was a Chaplain at a Catholic HS in SF where, for a time, I was Chairman of the Religious Education Department. He was well liked as a teacher, very conservative and had a, shall we say, "devotion" to the Magisterium and the Church. But he had a great sense of humor & was forgiving in his tone when he taught HS students things that they did not want to hear or, more naturally, rebelled against. He also liked politics as did I. I did not think he would stay a HS Chaplain forever and he has not. 

In writing this blog, I am struck by the reason I am writing it and the times we find ourselves in. What do you do when someone you have known and called a friend moves to a position of power & influence and they use that new place to teach something that you believe to be harmful to you and those you love? Do you send them a note with a cheery statement on the cover saying hello, a humorous quotation, reaffirming that friendship, speak in affection, and run the risk of choosing affability over the truth you know, but can only express as an individual, not as a Bishop.

My answer to the question is here and in what I am writing. 

My friend, the Bishop, in his tweet, of course reinforced the point of view that abortion was the "preeminent" moral issue facing every Catholic voter. But then he recommended a link to a statement put out by a fellow Bishop from Madison WI, Bishop Hying. As a point of admiration to my friends understanding of politics, he was only "recommending" his fellow Bishops comments, not writing them himself. Nevertheless, there is one line that I can imagine him saying, that Bishop Hying writes directly, especially when it comes to the authority of the Magisterium. It is:"We are Catholic Christians before we are Americans." I do not agree. We are Catholic Christians AND we are Americans. 

I do not intend to state all the reasons why I disagree with Bishop Hying and, through his recommendation, with his fellow Bishop and my former colleague. I will speak of only one reason. It rests in a historical event called the Thirty Years War. Not a famous war known to many Americans. I believe that fans of "Game of Thrones" who study the historical events of that War, the ravaging of towns, killing of men & women, in the name of Religion, will note a similarity to the violence in George Martin's books and HBO's Emmy Award winning series, and the war I reference. For any follower of Christ to diminish the violence used by tyrants and scoundrels, in word or deed (King Herod - 45), and to ignite religious zeal over and against the obligations of Conscience & Citizenship in a Democracy is to cause, I believe, "scandal" in the Church. To directly or indirectly use the office of "elder" or "overseer" (bishop)  to endorse a would be tyrant, amoral in his actions, and sinful in his words and deeds, is in my view, immoral. 

And like the unbridled lust for power testified to in the The Thirty Years War, and similar wars where violence seeks justification, it is the "innocent" who suffer, not the unborn, not the newly fertilized zygote, but young children, fully grown human beings. They die. And the powerful? Would be Kings (King Herod - 45)  who seek to dominate the public square thru prioritizing religious fealty "before" citizenship, often they will sleep safely at night and be well fed in the morning. And what of lust and my clerical friends, bishops, ordained others who have vowed celibacy? It is a never ending source of fascination into the human mind that prompts me to look back and see how many of them do not see "lust" in any other terms than in genital fulfillment, whether alone or with others. Some transfer these instincts, thoughts, obesessions into a "sanitized" longing for power. And like other secular seekers of it, seek to dominate through threat and office. Hell is indeed a hot place in the human imagination.

My prayers are with all who not only seek to be better Citizens of this bountiful country but also seek a deeper sacred space where we find Conscience & the Christ of the Trinitas. Both, not one or the other.

Here is link to Bishop Hying's letter:

http://www.madisoncatholicherald.org/bishop-hying-columns/8846-hying-column09242020.html

No photos in the 1600's so in their place:

"In 1618, the first in a series of conflicts broke out in Northern Europe, sparking three decades of violence, famine and disease that swept across the continent and decimated its population." A painting of the looting of Wommelgem: