A divided country. Fights at the dinner table. Political vitriol. Sound familiar?
Or how about a conversation with someone where you impatiently waited for the other to finish speaking so you could tell him/her how they were wrong? And then as you talked, the other person did the same thing to you. What were the results? Frustration? Anger? Disconnect? Is that person someone you want to avoid now? Or someone about whom you think only negatively? Happen recently?
For me, the answer unfortunately is, “Yes!” When we throw politics or church teachings into the equation, it can get even worse. And the end result is a more wounded and divided Body of Christ.
For Jesus, this is not the world he dreams for us. In John 17:11, Jesus desires the unity of the Body of Christ when he says, “… so that they may be one just as we are.”
Sensing all of this and with another election cycle in full swing, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has created Civilize It: Dignity Beyond the Debate.
The goal of the Civilize It initiative is to help us engage in respectful and open dialogue about the difficult question of what it means to love our neighbors in the midst of such a divisive climate. We are called to bring the best of ourselves and our faith to the public square — and yet today, many shy away from such involvement because our national and local conversations are filled with anger and harsh language, often directed at people themselves.
When personal attacks replace honest debate, no one wins. This kind of attack, no matter the reason, only serves to further divide our communities. As Catholics, we must model a better way. Civilize It offers resources to help in these efforts. (You can find them at www.wearesaltandlight.org/civilize-it/resources.) These resources to promote civil dialogue in our parish communities include:
— A Pledge for Civility that an individual can sign or a parish can take as a community and share
— Reflections on civil dialogue for a bulletin insert and/or handout
— Document explaining what it means to form your conscience
— A Prayer for Civility to pray with your family and/or community
— Examination of Conscience to help you reflect on your own commitment to civility
With Civilize It, the Diocese of Camden Office for Life and Justice Ministries is inviting Catholics to pledge civility, clarity and compassion in the public square, to call on others to do the same, and to model love for neighbor during the 2020 election cycle and beyond. Let’s put our faith into action and make room in our heart for those with whom we disagree. Let us offer a different witness to a world where we often demonize those who think differently than us and instead listen and share with an open heart and mind to seek common ground and understanding.
During a recent reflection for Pentecost, Pope Francis stated, “We [all] have our differences, for example: of opinions, choices, sensibilities.” But the temptation to defend our ideas as “good for everybody,” the pope warned, “is a faith created in our own image; it is not what the Spirit wants.”
Pope Francis explained that, “[Much more than] our beliefs and our morality,” the Holy Spirit unites us as “God’s beloved children … [with] one Lord — Jesus — and one Father.”
“For this reason,” he said, “we are brothers and sisters!”
We pray that during this election season and all times, we do our very best to model with each other the love of “God’s beloved children” and that people will know we are Christian by how we treat each other, even those with whom we disagree.
Matthew Davis is director of Life and Justice Ministries, Diocese of Camden.
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