Love and Politics

Benedict's first papal encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, amazes me with its emphasis, and its reminder to us all, that love is our calling as Christians, and that it applies to every facet of our lives. We are called to live like Christ-- and that includes our vote: Christ is active in our political world as well as every part of our lives, and it is, perhaps, the link that brings together our faith and our politics.

For example, love calls us to fight for justice:

One does not make the world more human by refusing to act humanely here and now. We contribute to a better world only by personally doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the opportunity, independently of partisan strategies and programmes. The Christian's programme —the programme of the Good Samaritan, the programme of Jesus—is “a heart which sees”. This heart sees where love is needed and acts accordingly. Obviously when charitable activity is carried out by the Church as a communitarian initiative, the spontaneity of individuals must be combined with planning, foresight and cooperation with other similar institutions. (31b)

Also, love opens our hearts to the beliefs of others in our own lives, as well as in other countries, like Iraq for example, where we need to address people's religious differences as Christ would: with love. We are called to an openness and a patient understanding, to treat people in a "Christian" way, whether or not they are are Christian themselves:

Those who practice charity in the Church's name will never seek to impose the Church's faith upon others. They realize that a pure and generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love. A Christian knows when it is time to speak of God and when it is better to say nothing and to let love alone speak. He knows that God is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8) and that God's presence is felt at the very time when the only thing we do is to love. (31c)

Lastly, not only are we to embrace people with love, but we are called to note the difference between faithfulness and effectiveness, and the clear emphasis of the Church on our first and foremost calling to be faithful. However, Deus Caritas Est does not say that one cannot achieve both of these aims at once:

Practical activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ. (34)

Thus, if one is working toward peace and justice with a "love for man" that has been "nourished by an encounter with Christ," he may be able to achieve both these ends: effectiveness with the love and faithfulness we are called to live out.

With regard to the personnel who carry out the Church's charitable activity on the practical level, the essential has already been said: they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving the world, but should rather be guided by the faith which works through love (cf. Gal 5:6). Consequently, more than anything, they must be persons moved by Christ's love, persons whose hearts Christ has conquered with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbour. The criterion inspiring their activity should be Saint Paul's statement in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: “the love of Christ urges us on” (5:14). (33)

As Christ's love "urges us on," we can place His love at the center of our politics in an attempt to faithfully improve our world.