Monday Motivation: the Importance of Patience

"Hence the importance of patience in the New Testament, which becomes the basic constituent of Christianity, more central even than humility: the power to wait, to persevere, to hold out, to endure to the end, not to transcend one's own limitations, not to force issues by playing the hero or the titan, but to practice the virtue that lies beyond heroism, the meekness of the Lamb which is led." -Hans Urs von Balthasar

The Political Pulpit

There’s so many changes happening today and it’s hard to keep track of them all and so many of them are so important and will affect our lives and our country significantly. One of those changes says the IRS recently repealed the 1954 Johnson Amendment rule that said nonprofits could not endorse a specific political candidate without losing tax exempt status. So now churches can endorse candidates. Of course, church leaders have always guided members on how to vote some more vertically than others, usually by discussing the morality of specific issues. But now they can openly endorse candidates, and direct their parishioners to vote for them. This can also lead to PACs funneling money to churches to get an endorsement. Political organizations can now funnel donations through churches, bankrolling candidates with zero accountability, and get a tax deduction for it. It will turn some churches into political centers, diluting the actual mission of the church.

Fortunately, the USCCB came out with a statement saying that Catholic churches will continue to not endorse specific candidates, but rather put out voting guides, stating “The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good. The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates.” However, there will be pastors who will take money and tell their congregations who to vote for. Votes will be bought, and even worse, they will be bought through the pulpit.