The biblical prophetic tradition

Editor:

Father Gregorio stands in a modern stream of the biblical prophetic tradition, examining our secular society in the light of Catholic religious teachings. His columns point out the contradictions between our faith teachings and our secular society’s indifference and acceptance of the evils of poverty, economic disparity, abortion, war and the rampant gun violence that infests and infects our country.
And what he says, even though based on the papal and American bishop’s teachings and documents, discomfits even some Catholics, as seen by the many letters written to this paper over the years that attempt to refute and rebuke him. They usually say that he is in error, off-course, or out of bounds in his critiques and stances on current issues. The underlying tone of these letters is that Father Gregorio strays into “politics,” and that Jesus was apolitical.
But this belies the facts. Prophetic messages criticizing society’s values and mores have always run afoul of the accepted political wisdom, often with dire consequences for the prophet-messengers. Amos was run out of the town of Bethel for his criticism of the wealthy’s mistreatment of the poor and needy. Jeremiah was thrown down into a cistern and threatened with death, a fate that actually befell his contemporary Uriah, for statements that demoralized the military. And Jesus and the Apostles were tortured and executed for offending the politically powerful of their day with a religious message of faith and love that threatened the legitimacy and influence of the ruling religious and secular authorities. The message of our faith is that religion should always inform political views and actions in society.
So I encourage Father Gregorio to continue his efforts to examine difficult issues in the light of our faith’s teachings, even thought it may discomfit those of us who would limit and hobble the vision of our Catholic social precepts and responsibilities by viewing them through the lens of current political party ideology. We need this vision in our world today.

Daniel Smith
Galloway