|
 |
Volume No. 1 Issue No. 68 - Tuesday May 03, 2005 |
Mixing God Religion and Politics
 by Dr. Emanuel Finn
Historically the church in Dominica has always managed to avoid politics and has for the most part struck to a defined role as spiritual houses and saunctionaries for the people.
 Not too long ago the overwhelming majority of the priests who served the parishes were middle-aged men from Europe. These foreign clergymen easily managed to extract themselves from the emotional dynamics of Dominican politics.
Lately there has been a refreshing and proud presence of brilliant native born and raised priests who are highly vocal, patriotic and opinionated. Some in this group hold no secret to the political party and candidates they support and some have gone as far as campaigning for their political party of choice.
Partisan politics now reigns in the houses of the lord almighty and in its church yards.
This dangerous paradigm shift represents a break with the accommodating and conservative past. Today’s clergy are butting heads and throwing themselves and invariably the church into politics and elections mêlée.
Politics today has a profound impact on this new genre of Dominican clergy. This in turn is having a profound impact on how the people view them and the church’s role in society.
But the nation, the church hierarchy and authority must be careful and double vigilant that some members of the clergy might be straying too deep into partisan politics. The beast called politics is tearing our people apart and has the potential of destroying our country and the resolve of our people.
The church should engage in public policy issues, debates and endeavours instead of politics.
Partisan politics has the very real potential of dragging this noble and holy institution into disarry and confusion.
Members of the clergy must be mindful that their public and not so secret association and involvement in politics can result in loss of respect as they can be viewed as instruments and agents of politicians and political parties. What ‘colour’ robe will you be wearing this Sunday Father at the 9:00 a.m mass? Is it red, blue or green? Maybe you should wear white or brown Father.
According to the book of Galatians 6:7, many churches will reap what they have sown. Today, many seem to be losing their power and influence as well as their parishioners. Such a trend is quite noticeable in Europe and the United States.
According to the Journal Christianity Today, ‘now the great cathedrals of Europe (serve) not as houses of worship but as museums, empty of all but tourists’.
The same trend can be observed in other parts of the world. Is there a possibility that the church can be viewed as false religion? Can the church just die from a lack of legitimate and popular support? And how will true worship be affected?
It is a risky and treacherous minefield where and when politics and religion overlap. In the 2000 general elections, the nation witnessed some clergymen serving as advisors and strategists of political parties instead of just providing spiritual guidance.
The historic confrontation between some clergy members and politics can have far reaching consequences. It is a rare catholic in Dominica who does not care about politics, but it was a rare (or not at all) catholic priest who will dive into the divisive world of Dominican politics. This is a question of value and place that outlasts elections.
If this current trend of priests getting involved in partisan politics continues, people are going to judge them less as preachers of the word of god, men of devotion of a higher calling, spiritual healers and leaders.
Instead, they will loose credibility and will be judged as political stooges and puppets. That is a dangerous precedence that the church cannot allow and afford to happen. Instead the church should remain as a beacon of hope for the people.
The worst case scenario is if these political parties are tied to scandals and wrong doings (which always happens) then invariably, members of the clergy who are deeply associated with them maybe viewed by the public with jaundice and suspicious eyes.
The old rule that ‘birds of a feather flock together and show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’ will be applied without mercy upon the church.
The statement by the Bishop of Roseau, His Lordship Gabriel Malzaire urging the faithful to conduct themselves in a dignified manner during this stressful time is an act of true leadership.
It is a sad (and shameful) day for our nation when men and women (politicians and supporters) continue to drag our island home into the gutter.
It is also very regrettable that during this election season there has been no real debate on how our country is going to move forward and no real comprehensive development plan for our island has been put forward. We will need much more than wearing our favourite colours; green, blue or red to lift our country up.
There are some members of the clergy in Dominica whose writings and preachings have had a profound impact on the population. The teachings of Christ are used as a liberation tool in the struggle against social injustice, human indignity, drug addiction, bad government and governance.
These soldiers of the lord use what can be described as a form of liberation theology to speak and act against injustice and unfairness.
These men of the cloth belong to the progressive modern Dominican clergy. They are courageous and will not stand idle while their counterparts are using the church as a bully pulpit to support their political parties instead of speaking againist things that the lord does not approve as the bible tells us.
These noble men should live by the example of the late Pope John Paul II.
In December 1981, Poland’s strong man, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in the Pontiff’s homeland of Poland.
Under marital law, Jaruzelski’s regime applied draconian restrictions on civil liberties and imprisoned and killed thousands of demonstrators and trade union movement (Solidarity) members.
The Holy Father, who supported Solidarity and the freedom of his people, visited his troubled land and spoke about faith, the human sprit and the love. After the Pontiff held a second meeting with the powerful General and the communist party, martial law was lifted in 1983.
Solidarity leader Mr. Lech Walesa and the trade unionists were freed from jail. In 1990, Mr. Walesa became President of that former communist eastern block country.
The church in Dominica should be the ultimate vanguard and watchdog of the constitutional and human rights and well-being of our people. It should never allow itself to be compromised and or intimated by any government of the day, colourful and overconfident political personalities, politicians with axes to grind’, misguided political leadership, and draconian policies.
It should never remain silent on unjust law enforcement, police misconduct, questionable and harsh judicial practices and behaviors.
No one can question the wholesomeness of the Christian value system. The ecumenical community has a moral responsibility and has to appeal to the best in Dominica.
I learned some thirty years ago in that small church in La Plaine during my First Communion and Confirmation catechism lessons, that the church’s role is to prepare the congregation, community and country to a spiritual togetherness, higher understanding, tolerance, sisterhood and brotherhood.
The church should continue to pray for strength, humility and fortitude for our country, people and political leaders at this dark hour. The powerful prayer comes to mind: ‘Father forgive our trespassers as we forgive those who trespass against us’.
Beyond the question of strategic advantage and influence by the clergy in certain constituencies and the political parties they support, lies the gray area where voters and people’s impression of personal and civic morality of theses religious men overlap.
It is the moral duty of the clergy not to get caught up with these dynamics which have dire consequences. However, the Men of God should always be willing to seek out the truth and speak it out loud. These men should use the bully pulpit to speak truth to power.
Failure to act on high moral standards is a gamble that the church cannot afford to take and risk throwing respect and standing as a cornerstone institition. Unfortuately, the church’s credability could be replaced by laugther and (‘pappy show’) ridicule.
The church must view itself’ as ‘Gulliver surrounded by Lilliputians’ (politicians) and as a Field Marshal leading the ‘Troops’ (people) in a long, moral and ethical battle of life and living.
Members of the clergy must take a hard look at their political behaviors and the degree to which their own conduct and statements undermine public confidence in their truefulness.
Failure to heed this advice of staying above and beyond the messy political fray means risking their own rightful important and dignified place in society due to the ugly spectacle of mixing, politics and religion.
|
|
|
