Are Catholics Liberal or Conservative?

I don't mean individual Catholics. They are all over the map. :)

I mean as a voting bloc, or as a social force in culture.

Recalling last year when I first learned about Catholic Social Teaching, I was struck by how... biblical... it was. And this for a denomination that has been accused by Evangelicals as not focusing enough on what the Bible says. I've come to learn that statement should be read: "not focusing enough on what I think the Bible says." Which is, after all, characteristic of low-church protestantism and all those in the anabaptist and pietist traditions, who focus on individual or small group piety & hermeneutics, rather than interpretation & piety in a communal setting (as part of a confessional community.)

Ha - or so my professors tell me. :P

(not really. I sort of figured that one out myself.)

This week's issue of the local archdiocesan newspaper really ran the gamut of social issues, and it reinforced once again the non-ideological nature of Catholic Social Teaching. It isn't Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. It's ... Christian. :)

Some article titles will serve as witness to the diversity of issues about which Catholics care:


Catholic Charities' plan to cut poverty in half by 2020
Minnesota Bishops urge state budget to give priority to poor
Pro-life group relocates banquet due to hotel's TV porn
Educators urged to follow example of Christ (on human life & dignity)
Pregnancy centers help in tough economic times
Disability services make a difference, deserve support
Caring for creation - special section on energy saving
Vatican objects to Iran president's remarks on Israel
Cardinal comments on new NIH embryonic stem-cell guidelines
St. Francis convenant promotes care for environment
New Bishop of St. Louis a promoter of evangelism
Homosexual attraction: a disordered desire for love


This last article, while controversial, is actually very mainstream and Augustinian in its theology, and explains well (as did St. Augustine) how all sin stems from legitimate desires that are simply out-of-order. It maintains that homosexual attraction is not sinful, only the acting on it is. This would be equally the case for any sexual activity taking place outside of the sacramental union of marriage. It urges all people to chastity of all sorts, not just in one type of situation, or for one type of person.

Yeah, well.. easier said than done, of course, for anyone, in both thoughts and actions. But at least it's even-handed in application. I link to it here, and recommend reading it in its entirety.

So, the issues run the gamut from sexuality to environmentalism, from concern for marriage to concern for the poor, from support for unplanned pregnancies to support for the disabled, from spreading the Gospel to stopping the spread of anti-semitism. How can you pigeonhole this broad set of issues in one part of the ideological spectrum? It offends conservatives and liberals alike, and finds common cause with both!

That must be because it's Biblical. The Bible does the same thing. On both a personal and cultural level, it at once challenges us and encourages us, confronts us and invites us. So should the Church.

Whether we heed it or not... that's between us and God.