Rosaries, Hail Marys and Glory Bes ring high, and it’s not even overtime in the LSU-University of Alabama game.
The Pope arrived in the United States, and Catholics, good and bad, are excited. Pope Francis lit a fire in the belly of Catholicism by speaking to the unifying love found in Christianity, and not to the disunity in discussing social issues.
Francis is a beacon of understanding to those who follow the social gospel interpretation of the Bible. As explained by Francis on a visit to Turkey, the social gospel should lead all “to defend the poor, to end war and heal conflicts and to help young people to see past materialism and to embrace a ‘true humanism.’”
The social gospel was the reason President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic Party held onto the Catholic vote for so long. Until abortion landed into the political sphere, the moral debate lived inside of heated yet friendly debates on the ride home from Mass.
The situation is different today. Conservatives have latched onto a fissure within the Catholic American community and exploited it for the gain or loss of various other interests.
The Catholic community allowed itself to lose sight of what makes faith a powerful venue to fight for peace and happiness throughout the world. But Francis is helping mend that gap. Treating another as your brother or sister, whether they’re your enemy, is powerful. The empathy it takes to view someone else as yourself and care about his or her life as your own is not something anyone will ever fully grasp, but attempting to do so as the faith teaches is vitally important.
For instance, climate change is a contentious issue between Democratic and Republican Catholics. The Pope uses the Bible to help conservative Catholics understand the moral reasoning behind fighting climate change. He said, “We must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the Earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures.”
On economic inequality, he reprimanded unfettered capitalism and called on the rich to care and give back to the poor.
The Pope garnered support globally for his views, but there is a split in the U.S. With the growth of the Hispanic community, the Daily Beast notes “American Catholics [have] split into two distinct camps … with relatively conservative, white, non-Hispanic Catholics on one side and relatively liberal Hispanic Catholics on the other.”
The approval ratings between the two are stark. “Ninety percent of Latino Catholics say [the Pope] is moving the church in the right direction, while 77 percent of white Catholics say he is.” While there is still support for Francis and his teachings, white Catholics do seem to harken for the older, more conservative leadership of his predecessor, Benedict.
Good and bad Catholics alike want to support and honor the teachings of Francis as he strives to increase the relevance and influence of a centuries-old institution.
Many may deride his tweets and selfie game as nothing but PR ploys. Catholics around the world, however, applaud his efforts. In America, and Louisiana especially, we welcome his Holiness with open arms — on the left and right.
Garrett Hines is a 21-year-old political science senior from Monroe, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @garrettH_TDR.