Dear St. Rita Parishioners,

            Yesterday, we took several buses downtown to the March for Life, which, for all who have been, is the most joyful protest you have ever seen. In a world that is full of upheaval and violence – even when protesting for peace – the March for Life remains actually peaceful. Participants comment that it is an opportunity to see old friends, to pray, and to stand up joyfully for the unborn, who have no ability to stand up for themselves. I think that one of the reasons the March for Life is so peaceful and joyful is that its aims are truly good – the protection of life in the womb – and that it is rooted in prayer.

            We know that not all protests are like that, and many times emotions run high. When emotion overpowers reason, even protesting for good causes can go awry. Other times, the goal is actually agitation itself, which doesn’t resolve the issues but only makes them worse. Socialism relies on this agitation both to motivate activists and to achieve upheaval, because the goal isn’t just resolution of the particular issue, but unjust upending of the system. The upending may be unjust because of the ends or the means, or both.

            It is good to recall that systems do not have moral agency, in the sense that a system (government, business, etc.) cannot make any choices and therefore cannot sin or do good. Sin is in the will, and there is no will in a system to which sin can be imputed. It is the persons involved in a system who can sin or do good. Further, while a system does not have moral agency, it does bring with it a moral character. If a duly installed leader or leadership structure creates a law or system aimed at achieving the common good, then it is morally binding insofar as it is in accord with natural and divine law. Such laws, however, cease to be binding when they force someone to act contrary to God’s law, and the letter of the (human) law can even be set aside if it is judged in a particular and urgent case that something else be done for the sake of justice or the common good. Never, however, is it permitted to act against divine law or the natural law. 

            I leave these considerations to you as we continue to watch other protests in the United States unfold. It is easy to feel compelled to take one side or the other, and such polarization will turn into “If you’re not with us, you’re against us,” painting with broad brush strokes and causing more problems than they fix. If to be fully with one crowd means to commit sin, then while I may have some general interest in their aims, I can’t necessarily engage in their tactics. Or, I may hold some of their aims, but not all of them. In the end, the only body into which we are fully invested is the Body of Christ. All others are subordinated to Him, and I bring my allegiance to Him to bear on my love for the other bodies (groups, parties, countries, etc.) in which I am involved. 

            There is no one that I am aware of at this moment to whom I would entrust the momentous task of creating a new socio-political order in this country. If there are those in our country who want to change systems, it cannot and must not be the result of upheaval and agitation. Not only will it leave a void that is devoid of peace, but it will cause more harm than good. Pray, then, for the conversion of souls, since seeking Christ together both causes us to turn away from sin and to be willing to make sacrifices of myself for the good of the other. 

In Christ,

Fr. Christensen