Supposedly when the invading British admiral stood in the rostrum of the old U.S. House of Representatives in 1814, he sarcastically asked his torch bearing marines: “Shall this harbor of Yankee Democracy be burned? All for it say Aye!”
In his recent address to a joint session of Congress, Pope Francis brought a very different attitude about Yankee democracy to the House chamber, concluding his speech with “God bless America!” He said “a nation can be considered great when it defends liberty [and] strives for justice” as urged by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. And he commended the “richness of American culture,” which “has inspired so many people to dream.”
Francis succinctly described the vocation of government:
Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.
And Francis reminded American lawmakers of the example of Moses, whose likeness adorns their chamber:
Yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of Moses. On the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of Israel symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity by means of just legislation. On the other, the figure of Moses leads us directly to God and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being. Moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work: you are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face.
Francis expanded on these themes later in Philadelphia at Independence Hall, where America’s Founders crafted the Declaration of Independence, whose “ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity.” He reminded Americans that “when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed.” He concluded:
May this country and each of you be renewed in gratitude for the many blessings and freedoms that you enjoy. And may you defend these rights, especially your religious freedom, for it has been given to you by God himself. May He bless you all.
All of these words from Pope Francis about country, duty, gratitude, political reform and governance within God’s care are particularly instructive for a new generation of American Christians who think nations, their own in particular, and statecraft have become passé and are outside the realm of Christian concern. Instead they want exclusive focus on the “subversive” work of The Kingdom outside all power structures.
One typical blog by a young seminarian declares:
First, in looking to history it becomes clear Christendom has had a disgraceful track record of oppression and abuse. Second, the powerfully hegemonic realities of Christendom have born little resemblance to Christ’s prophetically subversive Kingdom. Third, contrasting Christendom’s model, Jesus made no effort whatsoever to seize power or establish a geopolitical entity.
Yes, all political structures, inside Christendom and out, have been sinful at their best. But so are all human actors and actions, including the ostensibly “subversive” Kingdom builders. No, Jesus was not called to political power during His earthly walk. But Jesus the Second Person of the Trinity has ordained nations, and states, calling persons, including some Christians, to serve in government, to work for approximate justice.
Popes, and governments like the American republic, are part of Christendom. They have sinned against God in countless ways, and God has deployed them in countless ways. Mature, orthodox Christianity does not permit whole-scale escape from human institutions and responsibility, civil or ecclesial.
Francis, speaking from the harbors of Yankee democracy, reminded Americans and Christians to be grateful, sober, vigilant and mindful of their political duties before God.
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