Faith in the Public Arena

Faithful citizenship requires transcending the ideologies and partisan divides of our time and working primarily for the salvation of souls, not for short-term political gain on high-profile issues.

The latest round of revelations related to clerical corruption, abuse and sin are yet another inexcusable abomination that soils the garments of the Church. They severely compromise the integrity of our Gospel witness as heralds of Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Even more, they undermine our moral witness in the public arena, and our ability to serve as a voice of conscience in political life.

President Donald Trump has selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court left by Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement. Unless something damaging emerges from his background, Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Holiness in politics? Is that an oxymoron? Not for Catholics. In Pope Francis’ recent exhortation “Gaudete et Exultate,” he reminds us that the two are indeed connected.

Almost 40 years ago, in June 1979, Pope John Paul II traveled to his homeland of Poland, and within nine days ignited a human rights revolution that continues to shape the Church and the world today.

As Catholics, we are called to actively live out the Gospel in public life. It’s a call that sometimes solicits the thought, “Do I really have to?”

Those defending the indefensible continue to use vague words, abstraction and misleading terms to impose their will. And it can be alarmingly effective because corrupt language obscures the truth and dulls the intellect. As Orwell himself put it, “every such phrase anaesthetizes a portion of one’s brain.”

In the coming weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court might loosen federal restrictions on sports gambling. As a result, many states have proactively drafted bills that would create regulated sports gambling industries at the state level — Minnesota included. The changes could greatly expand legal gambling in Minnesota, for example, by making online gambling accessible 24 hours a day from any computer or smart phone.