October 18, 2013
The government shutdown finally ended. Nonetheless, it is important for us to reflect on what the role of government is in our times especially when so many are convinced our government has lost its way.
Recently, the bishop chairpersons of three important committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued statements about the government shutdown in which they stated that the proper role of government is to “make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life.”
They noted that includes food, clothing, heath care, education and culture. “In our country today, millions of Americans struggle to meet these basic needs, through no fault of their own, as a result of an economy that continues to fail to create sufficient economic opportunities,” the bishops wrote. “Last year, the poverty rate remained at a 20-year high, over 1 in 5 children lived in poverty, and 49 million Americans were food-insecure at some point.”
When a government closes down, it is nearly impossible for people to live a “truly human life” as the bishops, quoting the Catholic Catechism, point to as the major reason for which governments exist. When you depend for food for your family on food stamps and the government is not issuing them – to whom do you turn? When you work for homeland security and are sent home without the security of a paycheck how do you handle the rent? (And, of course, what happens to the security of our home land when so many people are unable to fulfill their tasks?) If you’ve saved money for some amount of years in order to tour some or even all of the nation’s amazing parks and the government closes them, what can you do? Each of the moments in life that I just mentioned are unjust, and it is justice that our Bishops, the Word of God and our united common sense remind us that we need in these difficult times.
Pope Francis recently commented, “You can’t govern without loving the people and without humility! And every man, every woman who has to take up the service of government, must ask themselves two questions: ‘Do I love my people in order to serve them better? Am I humble and do I listen to everybody, to diverse opinions in order to choose the best path?’ If you don’t ask those questions, your governance will not be good.”
Pope Francis lays down criteria for politicians, which should go to the heart of all those involved in governing, and at this moment to the members of Congress in particular: “Do I love my people in order to serve them better?” I hear and read too often about Congress people saying they must vote on bills according to the will of their constituents. Clearly that is not the path to a profile in courage.
Voting in order to please constituents is not the reason for which we send people to Congress. The task of the elected official is to vote in ways that will best serve the needs of the whole country – it’s the kind of vote that needs courage for it to be executed but such a vote will most likely serve the people better.