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Archbishop's latest book explores the role of faith in the public square
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A new book by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., “Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life,” will be available in most major bookstores Aug. 12. He recently spoke about the book with the Denver Catholic Register.
Q: Why did you write “Render Unto Caesar”?
A: Religious witness has always had a vigorous and positive role in American public life, including the nation’s political life. That’s what the Founders intended, and that’s the way it should be. That’s why I wrote the book—to talk about the right role of Catholic faith in American public life.
Q: At the start of your book, you cite two quotations, one by French writer Charles Péguy and one by the philosopher Henri Bergson: “Freedom is a system based on courage” and “The motive power of democracy is love.” How do those ideas frame your text?
A: Democracies need people of moral conviction. John Paul II said that, and so did George Washington. Free societies thrive on public moral debate, and they need a moral consensus to survive. They need to stand for something. And that “something” needs to be something more than the latest flat screen television. In other words, genuinely free societies need to be free for some principles of human rights and dignity, and some higher ideal of the human person. A society of individuals based on freedom from each other’s beliefs really isn’t a society at all. It’s a collection of hustlers.
Given the religious roots of the American experience, religion isn’t a “problem” for American politics. It’s the opposite. Religious believers enrich the democratic process by bringing their moral convictions to bear on political issues. That takes courage, because acting on one’s beliefs will always bother somebody, somewhere, and create conflict. And in the face of that conflict, only love—an unselfish commitment to the common good—makes courage possible. So Péguy and Bergson had it right. Courage and love are really essential to a healthy democratic life.
Q: In the book you note that “For Catholics, politics—the pursuit of justice and the common good—is part of the history of salvation.” Would you expand on that?
A: Politics involves the use of power. How we use that power has moral consequences. As Catholic citizens, we have a Gospel duty to work for justice through our nation’s public policies. How we live our Catholic faith in our political decision-making has implications both for our nation’s moral health and our own relationship with God.
Q: One of your chapters is titled, “Men Without Chests.” You write that the phrase from C.S Lewis describes “people who have many comforts but no greatness of soul.” How does that describe today’s American Catholics?
A: I think it describes what many of us could become if we don’t remember who we are as believers, why we’re here, and how to live our Catholic faith authentically. American Catholics still have a deep reservoir of moral witness. But we live in a culture that makes it easy to dumb down our taste for God, truth and real moral growth with a menu of material success and distractions. It’s easy to live a life in our country today that’s quite comfortable, but something less than human.
Q: What can be done about the “crisis of faith” you note among American Catholics?
A: The most important thing all of us as Catholics can do is to step back and examine our lives for consistency. If we claim to be “Catholic,” what does that actually mean in our behaviors? We can’t have it both ways. We can’t live one way in church on Sunday, and then ignore or conveniently amend our Catholic faith the other six days of the week. We need to choose. We need to be honest. If we want to live as Catholics, then we need to give ourselves fully to what the Gospel and the Church call us to be—real disciples. If we have that humility, will and desire, then God will provide the rest.
Q: Describe what it means to be a “faithful citizen.”
A: It means having our priorities in order. Our first obligation is to God. Nothing is more important than that. Every other duty in our life is enriched if we’re first faithful to Him and his Church. The greatest gift we can give our nation is the moral witness of our faith—in our words, our choices and our actions. The more authentically we live our Catholic faith, the more truly we contribute to our country as faithful citizens.
Q: You explain what Christ’s words, “render unto Caesar,” mean. Can you share that here?
A: Christians owe respect and appropriate obedience to secular authority, because that authority ultimately draws its legitimacy from God. But Caesar is not God. Caesar’s authority is limited. More to the point: Secular law does not trump God’s law. When a nation passes bad laws, Christians have a duty to work to change them. A nation’s political life is always an expression of justice or injustice. Catholics need to respect the dignity of other people who have differing views, but that never excuses Catholic silence or inaction in the face of evil public structures, policies or laws.
Q: Is there anything you would like to add?
A: Yes, vote. But pray and challenge yourself about your political choices first, guided by your Catholic faith, because each of us is accountable for the course of our nation. Whether we think of ourselves as Democrats or Republicans or members of some other—or no—political party is not important. What’s vital is fighting within our parties and public institutions to turn them toward protecting and advancing the sanctity of human life—from the unborn to the elderly; from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
About the Book
Author: Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Publisher: Doubleday, 2008. 272 pp.
Cost: $21.95
Available: Aug. 12 at major bookstores. It can be pre-ordered at www.Amazon.com.
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