And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto you, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crows twice, you shall deny me three times.” Mark 14:30
And so it was that, upon the decree that “Catholics for Trump” would assemble in our fair city, the Archbishop of Milwaukee said, “However, I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Faithful that the Catholic Church is not a political organization, nor is it politically affiliated. The mission of the Church is religious, not political.”
Cue cock.
It seems it was just a few short years ago that, backed by conservative Catholic armchair theologians during the 2016 campaign, one saw a cascade of articles in Catholic magazines and websites arguing why the Faithful should vote for the Republican candidate. Obviously, the GOP platform mirrored Catholic doctrine in the areas of reproductive rights, traditional marriage and the embrace of conservative Western values (read misogyny, homophobia and white supremacy).
After the election, a colleague—a good Catholic—voiced her chuff over the GOP victory and explained that while she didn’t like the candidate, she saw the opportunity for Republicans to control the judiciary with conservative appointments, adding a smug “don’t worry, we still love you.”
But lo, as that giddy post-coital glow dimmed, it may have dawned on good Catholics that their sin of making a pact with the devil has come back to haunt them. Some may be gnashing their teeth and running to the confessional with guilt and mea culpas. Today, the congregation’s demographic is shifting dramatically towards a Latino American majority (among congregants younger than 30, the majority is already Hispanic). Immigrants of color make up the majority of priestly vocations, too. While white Catholics might be cheering for their man, Attorney General William Barr, it’s hard to pitch immigrant Kinder-concentration camps and ICE raids when the targets happen to be Hispanic and Democratic voters. Aligning with the anti-immigrant white regime might have repercussions, and the Church would have some explaining to do. And it certainly can’t afford to lose Hispanic congregants and seminarians to the social justice-minded competition.
There are also other inherent conflicts between regime practices (especially those conducted out of a very un-Catholic spite) and Catholic doctrine regarding education, the death penalty and care for the poor and the homeless. And, as it turns out, despite Rome’s homophobic dogma, 10% of U.S. Catholics identify as LGBTQ. By some estimates, among clergy, over 50% do.
Besides, just watch our local Channel 30 and discover how Evangelicals really feel about Catholics. For the moment, the unholy alliance’s “enemy of my enemy is my friend” strategy may have achieved some success, but like the Martin Niemöller poem suggests, eventually, after “they” come for the unionists, the Jews, the socialists (and I’ll add the immigrants and gays), they’ll come for the Catholics. Nobody likes to share power or the Rapture.
Due to a Deus ex Machina plague having cancelled the Catholics for the new Messiah rally, the Archbishop may be off the hook for the moment. Besides, in the manner of Matthew 27:24, he’s already washed his hands of it and saying, “It’s your responsibility!”
