Brother JR,
I found your recent posts to be very dense and contradictory. I am trying to figure out your meaning.
On a practical level are you saying that Catholics have the responsibility to work for Catholic truth in our society in the way we vote, which charities we give to, if a politician - which bills we support, any public demonstrations we attend, policies we implement in our workplace, our participation in professional organizations, etc.? As individuals we should oppose that which is contradictory to our Truth within the framework of our constitutional laws and rights? All the while acknowledging that the same way we have a right to work for Catholic values, we cannot deny someone else the right to work for their particular values? If so, I agree with that. I also think that it is practically impossible for a Catholic to be a politician, a judge, etc. and remain faithful to our Truth while upholding the pluralistic civil values and laws in our country. I know I could not do it.
The position of the Church was laid out by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians. There is only one truth and only one truth can exist. That truth is what was revealed by Jesus Christ.
To say that there is our truth and their truth is equate two positions as being of equal value and both true. That is impossible unless it’s the same position being expressed by two parties. For example, Muslims and Catholics believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. This truth was revealed by Jesus Christ to both Muslims and Christians. The fact that the Muslims do not give Christ credit for it is irrelevant. Christ is not looking for credit, just for submission to his truth.
We cannot deny anyone the right to work out of their framework. But we may never say that their framework is as valid as our own and has equal rights in society. That is immoral and heresy. It is enough material to separate us from the Catholic Church and to deny us the Eucharist. What we are doing is creating a false communion between two points of vew. We are saying that they should co-exist as equals. In which case, the person who subsribes to this is trying to be in communion withe the truth revealed by Jesus Christ while placating what someone else believes to be true. We cannot do that, because we do not have the right to do that. St. Paul makes it very clear in the first chapter of Galatians. We cannot set out to make people happy at the expense of truth revealed by Christ. What we are allowed to do is let people discover truth on their own time and at their own pace. That is humane and just.
If we take a moral law such as abortion. That is not a Catholic opinion. That is a truth that was revealed by God 4,000 years ago, long before Catholicism existed. It is held in common by Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and many other faiths. God implanted this the truth about the sacredness of human life in the heart of man long before the Church was born. The Church’s job is to remind man of this reality.
Since this law was implanted into human history by God, no human government has the authority to grant permission to kill anyone, with very few exceptions. When Catholics go to the poles and allow politicians to vote for abortion, they abdicate their fidelity to revealed truth and their fidelity to the Commandments. No where do the OT or the NT say that man can abdicate the law of God to civil authority. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s means just that. Caesar is entitled to that power and authority that is given by divine right. The authority to grant license to kill has never been given to Caesear. Therefore, we cannot accept this as a legitimate exercise of government. It is contrary to revealed truth. If we accept this as legitimate, in the name of pluralism, then we have reduced our own value system to relativism. In which case, we must not receive the Eucharist on Sunday, because we are no longer in full communion with Christ or the Church.
On you work situation, you did the right thing. You treated people with respect, but you did not show support for a lie. We can never be unkind to people and we can never show support for a lie. Same-sex marriages are a lie. The truth is that there are people with same-sex attractions. They have the same rights that other human beings have. No human being has the right to sexual relations with a person of his or her own gender.
GLBT people have the right to work, hold public office, worship, belong to a family, own property, be safe from violence and hate crimes, be treated with courtessy and kindness. They have a right to healthcare, eduction, a home, to be welcome into the Church and to receive the sacraments. They have a right to go to heaven too. Finally, they have a right not to be judged by the rest of us. We can judge an action, not a person. We do not know what is in the heart of a person. Only God knows this and maybe the confessor. That’s maybe.
If you have not read it, I would strongly recommond reading John Paul’s GOSPEL OF LIFE. It gives all of the rules that governments and people of faith must follow. It tells you where you can be lenient and tolerant of pluralism and the limits of pluralism. Like all social pehonomena, this one too has its limits. It must conform to revelation.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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