My faith motivates me to be interested in politics. The Hebrew prophets and Jesus eloquently express God’s concern for the poor, the sick and the powerless. Jesus and the prophets tell me that my concern should be for justice and peace.
My faith, however, does not tell me what government policies and programs will best serve the cause of justice and peace. In other words, I get my values from the Gospel, but I have to use my head to find programs to implement these values. And in the real world, I know that there are no perfect programs, and even if there were, it is politically unrealistic to think that such programs will receive unanimous consent.
Politics involves negotiations, compromises and coalition building. Once I settle on a policy or program, I look for allies and I don’t really care what values motivate them. This is why the Catholic bishops could work with the Civil Liberties Union against capital punishment and with the Moral Majority against abortion.
In the same way, when looking at presidential candidates, I don’t care what religion they profess but I do care about what public policies and programs they support. I also care about whether they will be able to deliver on their promises.
In voting for president, I am not looking for a minister or a saint. I am looking for someone who can move our country in the direction of justice and peace.
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