The 2024 presidential election was admirably carried out. Around the nation crowds of voters waited patiently and politely, often in long lines, to add their ballots to those submitted by mail. Observers commented that there seemed to be a strong sense of purpose at work, and the election results proved them right. A majority of Americans were upset with the direction the country had taken during the Biden administration, not just in one matter, but many, from open borders to increases in crime, the rising cost of gasoline and of food, and much more. Moreover, they were angered by the administration’s repeated claim that there was nothing to complain about.
Adding to the voters’ concern over the Administration’s policies was the mainstream media’s support of them and refusal to consider even the most reasonable criticisms. Instead of news, they offered liberal talking points, also known as propaganda. Finding the truth about issues had become more difficult, and expressing truth invited shaming. Trump and those who supported him and/or his policies were linked with “Hitler,” “Stalin,” and “Mussolini,” and denounced as “traitors,” “Fascists,” “Nazis,” “racists,” “scum”, and “garbage.”
Such slurs against conservatives were not new. They had begun in 2016 with Hillary’s “Basket of deplorables” insult and continued without pause until the present. Thus, for eight long years liberals branded conservatives willfully hateful and evil. Then, as if that lie were not enough, they accused conservatives of causing dissension and disharmony! (There is a Yiddish term for such audacity—chutzpah—and it is illustrated by a man who killed both his parents and then begged the court for mercy because he was an orphan.)
The title of this essay suggests the Catholic Church is somehow connected with this sad story of the maligning of conservatives who oppose liberal policies. The remainder of this essay will explain that connection.
The role of the Catholic hierarchy, indeed its main purpose, is summarized in Jesus’ command to the apostles: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” But feed them what? What did Christ mean? The feeding metaphor obviously refers to food and clearly implies other things necessary for physical life: shelter and clothing. But mental and spiritual life are also important, in some ways more so. This kind of feeding provides knowledge, understanding, and especially truth, all of which lead to wisdom.
The record shows that U.S. bishops have done quite well with providing food, shelter, and clothing to those in need. I say only “quite well” because U.S. bishops have tended to serve illegal “lambs” to the detriment of both their own “lambs” and the safety and stability of their country. However, they have largely failed in meeting mental and spiritual needs.
To be more specific, they have used pulpits to preach on the content of Scripture but not on its application to the governmental and cultural challenges of our time. This significant omission has made Catholic publications and organizations feel comfortable embracing liberal and “woke” ideas and rejecting conservative ideas, even when they mirrored traditional Catholic teaching. Those Catholic publications and organizations thus reinforced rather than opposing mainstream media viewpoints and joined in the denunciation of conservative ideas and values.
The Bishops’ failure to meet the intellectual needs of Catholics contributed to ignorance overcoming knowledge, misunderstanding blocking understanding, and falsity displacing truth. To understand more fully the seriousness of the Bishops’ failure let’s express it in terms of the Gospel “feeding” metaphor. The Bishops have not only starved their sheep but remained silent while others fed them poison!
Three other Scripture passages are relevant to the Bishops’ obligation to meet the intellectual needs of Catholics:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father . . .” (Matt 7:21) This passage provides a clear guideline for the Bishops’ keeping Catholics from harm. All they needed to do was look past governmental office holders’ claims of achievement and media affirmations and examine the actual impact of their policies on people. Had they done this, there is no way they could have remained silent about the harm the Biden administration did to the country. There are times when silence is a virtue, but this was not one of them: as Albert Einstein noted, “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself“ is the most important commandment after love of God. (Luke 10) When asked “who is my neighbor,” Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. That response is illuminating but not limiting. For example, it does not disqualify our friends or fellow citizens from the category “neighbors.” Thus, like the rest of us, Catholic Bishops are to love all their neighbors, Catholic and non-Catholic, and one important way for doing so is to speak publicly for truth and against falsehood.
“It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Luke 17:1-2 (Note: scholars have noted that Jesus often used “little ones” to refer to His adult disciples.) It would be a mistake, of course, to suggest that Catholic Bishops have placed moral/spiritual “stumbling blocks” in the way of their flocks. But it is perfectly reasonable to say that they have walked past those blocks when they had both the opportunity and the obligation to remove them. And there is little difference between that and the Samaritan having ignored rather than helped the man attacked by robbers.
I will continue to offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for miraculously saving Donald Trump from assassination and for inspiring a majority of Americans to see beyond the lies about him and his supporters and elect him President. I will also remain impressed that even as the anointed were failing to guide their flocks, the Holy Spirit silently touched the minds and hearts of millions of the unanointed, young and old, believers and unbelievers, to embrace the truth and act on it. Should we conclude that the Holy Spirit did not offer the same insight to the Catholic hierarchy? Of course not. The only sensible conclusion is that they ignored the insight. I pray that the Catholic hierarchy in this country, in Rome, and around the world will recall Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom,” and learn from the 2024 election.
Copyright © 2024 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved.
