Should Catholics meddle in politics? 20 yo?

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An acquaintance of mine is now studying political science. I do not know of a better time than to study when you are young
 
Yeah…what’s the problem? If anything, we need more young Catholics in politics.
 
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They should get into politics and govern by Catholic principles. What they should not do is say they are Catholic and then govern in complete opposition to all Christian teachings thus making us real Christians look like hypocrites.
 
Yes, go for it. Just a note that you don’t need to major in political science to learn politics, though. Reading books, joining political clubs or societies or watching commentaries could work.
 
What do you mean by meddling?

I think everyone should participate in politics to the degree at which they are able to contribute. Some as voters, others as leaders, some in campaigning.

I don’t consider any of that to be meddling.
 
We all need to be involved in politics, appropriate to our own charisms and state in life. More to the point, we need to be doing whatever we can — even if just voting — to redirect the larger society into something in accord with Catholic social teachings, closer to the ideal of Christ as King. If it seems as though we are called, and our circumstances allow it, we might even consider running for office ourselves.

The first priority has to be abortion. It is murder of the innocent, and endangers not only the souls of those who carry it out, but (if we accept the traditional teaching on limbo) also prevents newly ensouled babies from enjoying the beatitude of heaven. We might never be able to reshape secular society to protect all life from conception forward — that would mean getting rid of all abortifacient methods of contraception, and a large number of otherwise “pro-life” people would never go for that — but we can do what is possible. Anything is better than nothing.

There are, of course, many other issues. Catholics most certainly should, as you put it, “meddle in politics”.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
We might never be able to reshape secular society to protect all life from conception forward — that would mean getting rid of all abortifacient methods of contraception
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Does that mean that it is OK for Roman Catholics to vote in favor of laws that protect a woman’s right to choose contraception including abortifacient methods of contraception although they may be personally opposed to it ?
 
This is an important apostolate of the laity.

From the CCC:
898 "By reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will. . . . It pertains to them in a special way so to illuminate and order all temporal things with which they are closely associated that these may always be effected and grow according to Christ and may be to the glory of the Creator and Redeemer."431

899 The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the Church:
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From Vatican II:

Decree on Laity
The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others.
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Pastoral Constitution
Laymen should also know that it is generally the function of their well-formed Christian conscience to see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the earthly city;
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I prefer to keep politics and religion separate.
Render unto Caesar and render unto God.
The combining of religion and politics in places like Iran and other countries has not been a good thing.
The term “meddle” sounds to me like making trouble.
 
No, it does not mean that. But it does mean that this is a battle we probably wouldn’t win. I would like to be wrong on that, but it’s hard for me to imagine that the women of this country would “turn loose” of these methods (birth control pills, IUD, “Plan B”, and so on) and only use non-abortifacient means.

Our modern society — the economy, the job market, the whole shebang — is largely based on women being able to ensure, beyond any doubt (other than the minuscule failure rate, at which time they either welcome an “oops baby” or have an abortion and keep quiet about it), that they will only have children if and when they want them. This paradigm shift was huge. Removing methods of contraception that at least have the potential to be abortifacient would be, I fear, too bitter of a pill (no pun intended) for modern society to swallow. Doesn’t make it right, I’m just stating the fact. Again, I’d like to be wrong about this, but I don’t think I am.

Many if not most women (or their husbands/consorts) have themselves sterilized when “their family is complete”. Heinous a sin that this is, at least it is not abortifacient.
 
I respectfully disagree. Separation of church and state is a good thing.
 
I don’t really understand the OP.

Studying Poly Sci is more like studying a branch of history, primarily focused on modern day politics. I imagine it’s extremely interesting but I don’t think it’s really a pathway to getting elected. Certainly you are ready to volunteer for your favorite candidate’s campaign though.
 
I would have explored politics, if it weren’t for those meddling kids!😀
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Oh you mean because Christ said you are in this world but not of this world? Well from that perspective I think when Christians enter the politics they should do their best not to “play the game” but to remember their back bones. Or have back bones. Politics in itself, politics for politics, it’s like rhethoric - empty. An empty chalice can be filled with good or with evil.
When politics is done just fot politics and for power and survival and gain I think the chalice is filled with poison.
 
Yep, as the Catechism states and history proves:
2244 Every institution is inspired, at least implicitly, by a vision of man and his destiny, from which it derives the point of reference for its judgment, its hierarchy of values, its line of conduct. Most societies have formed their institutions in the recognition of a certain preeminence of man over things. Only the divinely revealed religion has clearly recognized man’s origin and destiny in God, the Creator and Redeemer. The Church invites political authorities to measure their judgments and decisions against this inspired truth about God and man:

Societies not recognizing this vision or rejecting it in the name of their independence from God are brought to seek their criteria and goal in themselves or to borrow them from some ideology. Since they do not admit that one can defend an objective criterion of good and evil, they arrogate to themselves an explicit or implicit totalitarian power over man and his destiny, as history shows.51
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Along those lines, here are some prophetic words from Pope Bl. Pius IX:
  1. And, since where religion has been removed from civil society, and the doctrine and authority of divine revelation repudiated, the genuine notion itself of justice and human right is darkened and lost, and the place of true justice and legitimate right is supplied by material force, thence it appears why it is that some, utterly neglecting and disregarding the surest principles of sound reason, dare to proclaim that “the people’s will, manifested by what is called public opinion or in some other way, constitutes a supreme law, free from all divine and human control; and that in the political order accomplished facts, from the very circumstance that they are accomplished, have the force of right.” But who, does not see and clearly perceive that human society, when set loose from the bonds of religion and true justice, can have, in truth, no other end than the purpose of obtaining and amassing wealth, and that society under such circumstances follows no other law in its actions, except the unchastened desire of ministering to its own pleasure and interests?
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Bushum said:
They should get into politics and govern by Catholic principles. What they should not do is say they are Catholic and then govern in complete opposition to all Christian teachings thus making us real Christians look like hypocrites.
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One dilemma for a young person can be … to get the credentials to pursue one’s vocation in this field, they might have to get good grades on their Poli Sci papers … assigned and graded by teachers whose agenda might BE “in complete opposition to all Christian teachings” < or some of the most important ones. And it’ll be OK per their Universities per the much vaunted TAKE of " a separation of Church and State guaranteed by the (sic) establishment clause*" of the Constitution.
  • “free exercise” of religion is the real context containing that “clause” really. But exercising your freedoms on that subject in a classroom MIGHT hurt your grade … so … be forewarned young political hopefuls.
BUT carry on and … do the right thing(s).

🕯️✝️
 
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