There has been a lot of back and forth over the past few days as it relates to subjects such as the defeat of SB5 in the Texas Senate and the SCOTUS’ ruling on Prop 8 and DOMA. In a very simplistic fashion I’ve seen people shake out into a few different categories.
- People of faith and those who support these legislation and are up in arms about the rulings
- People of faith who do not support these legislation and are happy to see them defeated
- Secularist who do not support these legislation and are also happy to see them defeated
- Those who don’t care one way or another (everyone else)
As an organization whose job it is to promote the teachings of Christ and the tenets of the faith how are we to approach each of the above groups? The first group is the easiest to deal with because they basically agree with us. They may not all be Catholic but we are all on the same page as to how we feel about the events that have unfolded. To them I ask that they continue fighting and praying, continue to engage the culture as best you can. Always remembering to do so in love as these kinds of issues do often cause passions to rise and feelings to get hurt. Also remember as the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, lets do our best to remember that we are on the same team. So often even within the Catholic media world we hurt our own cause by public infighting and back-biting.
The second group in my opinion is the most difficult to deal with as they claim to be on our side, but their actions and words say something completely different. People who are poorly catechized or for one reason or another choose to stay in a Church with whom they morally disagree with (I’m looking at you Nancy Pelosi). These people have the opportunity to be our greatest resource or our biggest stumbling block. The insight that can be gathered by talking to and learning why they feel the way they do in the face of Church teaching I believe can help us be better missionaries.
As funny as this may sound and it goes for all four groups but the last two in particular. Just love them! Is it that simple? In many ways yes, because I’ve found that trying to debate people who have either no interest in your views or hold views completely opposite from yours is a lot like talking to a brick wall. But when you show them the joy and peace that comes with living a Christian life, that’s hard to ignore.
None of this is easy, but if it was, we wouldn’t be in the position we currently find ourselves in. And remember, when all else fails…pray
It is worth remembering there are plenty of atheists and agnostics who are pro-life also. I think the pro-life movement should highlight these people and give them big platforms. Otherwise the pro-life cause looks like a religious fight.
How often does prayer break out at pro-life rallies? Obvious religiosity turns people off and, I think, does more harm than good to the pro-life cause. Pro-life needs to be a big tent, and encompass people of all faiths and no faith.
Well said Jason!