by Dean Backes
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — As political temperatures continue to swelter this election season, and the nation remains divided, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is once again introducing its “Civilize It” initiative nationwide.
Born of Pope Francis’ desire to calm down the election season, “Civilize It” is designed to help Catholics overcome polarization and division in the church and society by simply following the lead of the good Samaritan. The campaign challenges Catholics to commit to God and to neighbor.
First launched by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2016, “Civilize It” took the national stage in 2019 when the Ohio archdiocese invited the USCCB to take it over.
Jill Rauh, the USCCB’s executive director of the Office of Justice and Peace, said there are alternate ways to discuss our political differences.
“Polarization is real and it’s a big challenge. There is a better way,” Rauh said. “We can turn to leadership as Catholics to look for a better approach — an approach that is rooted in the dignity of the human person and seeking the common good for all.”
Rauh went on to say that Catholics should desire to be a beacon of light and of hope and not contribute to the problems we have encountered as a nation.
“We [Catholics] have a great opportunity that I think is part of our mission of evangelization,” Rauh said. “We bring a different type of approach that is inspired by love of both God and neighbor.”
Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, said that Catholics are a lot like other voters in that they are sometimes driven by emotion instead of facts and passion for their positions.
Although he, too, sees the need to reel in our emotion at this time of year, Weber said Catholics still need to be more passionate about the issues.
“Being passionate is different than being emotional,” Weber said. “Emotion often leads to statements that are not factual and not helpful. Passion can lead to the determination about how Catholics feel about issues and about how they really should ultimately select our elected officials.”
Deacon Bill Scholl of Our Lady & St. Rose Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, said the rest of the country could learn a lot from Kansas because Kansans embrace this sense of being kind, being open to listening to others and not being rude.
Deacon Scholl, who is also the social justice consultant for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, said there is a tendency for voters to let their party affiliation cause them to view issues that the pope and the bishops are advocating for with some degree of suspicion, requiring him to sometimes apply the principles of “Civilize It” to engage people in dialogue.
“That’s something that the bishops in all of the states are observing,” said Deacon Scholl. “A lot of people are thinking, ‘Well, I thought you were pro-life. Why are you advocating for immigration? Isn’t that what the Democrats want?
“There is this suspicion that what you’re advocating for doesn’t line up with a particular party. There is this thought that you’re giving aid to the enemy.”
“The reality is that the church does not endorse one party over another,” he added. “There is no one party in the United States that completely dovetails with Catholic social teaching.”
According to Rauh, anyone that is interested in toning down the rhetoric can get involved in “Civilize It” by taking the pledge for charity, clarity and creativity. Simply go online to: www.usccb.org/civilizeit and fill in the pledge form. Once volunteers tap the submit button, the USCCB will pass along plenty of resources including Pope Francis’ five tips for “A Better Kind of Politics.”
Deacon Scholl said that he thought it would be beneficial for parishioners to take a look at the “Civilize It” website as they continue to discern their political engagement this election season.
“I think it’d be worth their while as they are discerning their political engagement this election season,” he said. “Just take a look at the ‘Civilize It’ website and look at the message. Take it into prayer and to heart.”
“It’s really easy to find yourself in an echo chamber and to fall into the trap of confirmation bias,” he continued. “Try to get a lot of information from a lot of different sources and realize that at the end of the day, God is in charge.”
One final impression that Rauh wanted to leave with parishioners is that “Civilize It” is an everyday initiative.
“It can be applied right at home when we have a get-together with our relatives, or when we’re in the workplace or at school,” Rauh said. “There can be differing views. We can use some help from what we can draw from prayer and from resources that are available through ‘Civilize It’ to help bring a positive approach to those situations.”
