Politics in an unlikely venue

As I was sitting through Mass on Saturday evening, I never imagined I would hear a sermon about the political mess that we are involved in currently in the United States and what implications it has for spirituality in the country. Although I have never heard a Catholic Priest discuss politics (I believe they are "required" not to speak about the matter altogether). The Gospel reading was Matthew 18:9, not a very uplifting text that begins with, "And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." The Bible goes on to establish many laws and rules that people should follow in society in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

While I was unsure what the Priest would preach about, I never imagined he would indirectly link the Gospel to politics by claiming that most elected officials, namely the Republicans, have views on some subjects that are not congruent with their views on other subjects. His theory is that Conservatives are very focused on talking about being "Christian to the core," and very "God-loving" people, while in reality, the views that they have on the elimination of social programs, and opinions on military spending and torture in Guantanamo Bay, are tearing apart religion because of the mixed messages that they send to their base. He also used the example of Conservatives who are "pro-life through and through," only to be strongly in favor of the death penalty and military operations.

It does seem that future generations might have a personal quarrel with Conservative beliefs that have been taught to them by their parents, and what the church and Bible have to say about the same issues.

An interesting thing to think about.

Trevor