The Catholic Pro-life Social Ministry Gathering
Thursday, February 11, 2010
By Megan Sweas
Comments (6)
The biggest issue at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering has been promoting the right to and dignity of life (and it always has been, as far as I can tell). Life is central to all the issues discussed this week from the environment to international assistance to, of course, health care reform.
This morning many gathered for a strategy session that yielded a great deal of good about seeking the common good in the promotion the life and dignity of the human persons.
Participants acknowledged the problem of partisan politics seeping into Catholic life, with the pro-life side sometimes becoming too entrenched with the Republican Party and the social justice side sometimes becoming too entrenched with the Democrats.
"In order to become all embracing pro-life, I think we have to give up political power," said one person. Few seemed to have confidence that pro-life democrats could be elected in most places, let alone truly consistent life politicians.
But the overall tone of the conversation was hopeful, as participants suggested ideas to bridge this gap on the ground. Message and action need to be consistent and unified, they agreed.
Show up-both at pro-life rallies and social justice rallies, some said. Build one-on-one relationships and mobilize respected lay leaders within organizations at the parish level. Create overlap on boards and committees too, and make sure people know about collaborations through effective communications strategies.
Many said they already do this. Some dioceses use Respect Life month to discuss abortion, the death penalty, war and other life issues. Some diocese have combined "justice and life" committees, and certainly the offices for Pro-Life Activities and Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the USCCB collaborate frequently, including at the gathering.
When I interviewed him for U.S. Catholic (to appear in May), Jack Jezreel of JustFaith Ministry said that a big challenge is simply education. Beyond learning about the many issues that affect the right and dignity of human life, everyone also needs to learn to appreciate each other's work. I am only one person, he said, and I can't do it all.
What's not healthy is an "us versus them" mentality. One participant shared a funny but true joke overheard from a priest: "Whenever you're talking about us versus them, God is usually on the side of them."
Can Catholics work together under a unified front for life or at least learn to appreciate those who work on other issues?
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Social Justice vs Pro Life
By Al (not verified) on Tuesday, February 16, 2010It is true that these two groups are at odds with each other. The problems are, indeed, education and defining words but it is also true that they tend to have a different starting point - a different assumption which needs to be addressed first. Same with the republicans and democrats on health care - one comes from the position of wanting government run health care, the other from just the opposite. Finding common ground is difficult under those conditions. I will say that I assume that, if you follow Catholic Teachings, the two (soc just & Pro Life) would not be at odds. I also wonder if the organizations of the Catholic Church aren't being compromised by being dependent upon government funding, especially when that government's philosophy is antithetical to Church teachings.
Promoting Life & Dignity of Life
By Jerry D (not verified) on Tuesday, February 16, 2010The problem that we conservatives have with working with the Catholic left working to promote the dignity of life is that we believe that the good-intentioned efforts of the unintentionally left tear down human dignity.
The left focuses on the idea that outside forces tear down the human being, while conservatives believe inside forces are more likely to tear down a human being. Conservatives believe the left's actions keep people from growing by blaming the other guy and enabling bad behavior by throwing money at people with no strings attached. The left, through compassion without standards, says things such as we should provide food and nice private housing for drug addicts because "no one grew up with the idea that he would become homeless and addicted... they are victims who that we need to care for."
Conservatives look to people such as Viktor Frankl who encourage people to find interior meaning and purpose in their lives.
"conservative" and "left" have a race
By Jim (not verified) on Tuesday, February 16, 2010The conservative view of the race-
100 meters, start at the same time, end at the same place, first person across the finish line wins.
or same rules, but one competitor trains for 10 years, is totally focused on winning, and the other is a couch potato-the interior factors are different
The left view of the race-
100 meters, start at teh same time, end at the same place-but one competitor gets a 50 meter head start, first person across the finish line wins.
or same rules, but one competitor gets to whack the other with a baseball bat a couple of times right before the race begins.
So, it comes down to which race do you want to be a competitor in, and which race do you think you're actually running in?
No Surprises Here
By JohnF (not verified) on Tuesday, February 16, 2010Why is anyone surprised that the "social justice" side and the "pro-life" side seem to be in separate, polarized parties?
How long has it been since anyone in the "social justice" realm admitted that people could be educated to solve their own problems? The vast majority of what I've heard strongly implies that we need a nanny state to care for us all.
It shouldn't be any wonder that most of the "pro-life" faction has headed toward the Republicans; they aren't perfect by any stretch, but at least they don't box human dignity into the lone category of mandatory socialism.
Vital Topic...
By Greg (not verified) on Monday, February 15, 2010Wonderful post. The key issues of polarization and co-opting of faith for partisan political purposes are worth discussion.
On my blog I have posted concerns with the alliance between the Franciscan Action Network with politicians on health care and, on the other hand, the strident approach of the Manhattan Declaration with respect to the dignity of life.
In a recent talk at Pepperdine Law School (also covered in a blog post) I traded views with a fellow speaker, a law professor, who noted the difficulty in bringing acceptance to restorative justice.
Parallel with comments in your post, I responded that lack of education in conflict resolution was slowing progress when it came to seeking collaborative approaches.
See http://tamingthewolf.com for more.
unified front for life
By Anonymous (not verified) on Monday, February 15, 2010Can Catholics work together under a unified front for life or at least learn to appreciate those who work on other issues?
Boy oh boy, that is the question for this time in history! Right on.
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