Emmanuel
FROM THE EDITOR
I know I’m dating myself by admitting to having grown up in the
tumultuous 1970s and ‘80s, a time of unrest marked by racial tensions,
cultural and social divides, and fierce debate over the U.S. war in
Vietnam. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? As we enter a new year, our
country continues to wrestle with endemic racism; the gap between
the über-rich, the alt-right, and the rest of us grows; and there is
widespread anxiety over potential armed conflict with North Korea,
Iran, and others.
When I was younger, I felt that political activism could change things
and move us “in the right direction.” I guess like many people today
I no longer feel this way, despite Pope Francis’ assertion during his
2015 visit to the Capitol that politics “is one of the highest forms of
love because it is in the service of the common good.” The Holy Father
urged our leaders to orient our nation’s politics toward the common
good, along the lines of such Christian models as Dorothy Day, Thomas
Merton, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Increasingly, I have come to believe that spiritual renewal and a
“revolution of tenderness” — again Francis’ words — are our best
hope. This was Dorothy Day’s conclusion after years of embracing
Marxist ideology and class struggle as the path forward.
In a voter guide for the 2016 national election, a coalition of Catholic
national organizations stated: “Jesus’ resurrection marked the end of
Caesar’s way of doing things. In fact, with God’s love in Jesus, Rome
is no more and a new community with new rules is established. In
this community, hierarchies are subverted, concentrated power is
decentralized, and prodigal children are welcomed home. In this new
place of mercy, the last are first, the poor are blessed, and enemies
are loved.”