Over at HotAir, Ed Morrissey puts Pope Francis’s comments about abortion and other hot-button social issues in context. Meanwhile, over at The Week, Keith Wagstaff argues Republicans could learn something from the Pontiff. They both make some good points.
We probably would all benefit from reevaluating how we present things to the outside world. Because sometimes, we are emphasizing the wrong things. And sometimes we are underemphasizing things.
“Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex,” says Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, “yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it.” (I would add that preachers talk a lot more about sexual immorality than about greed. In other words, both topics deserve attention, but the sin of greed deserves more emphasis. And this sends a message to everyone about what our priorities really are.)
The Republican Party can and should remain the Pro-Life party. But Republicans should also talk about other issues, like adoption, poverty, and…you name it. Likewise, Catholics needn’t backpedal away from their commitment to the right to life. Instead, as Morrissey notes, they should put the most emphasis where it belongs:
“We must start first and always with the Good News: God loves you, and sent His only son Jesus Christ who triumphed over man’s sinful nature so that all could be saved. Only then will proper formation (catechesis) occur, and only after that can we express the moral consequences of remaining unrepentant in sin. If we don’t start with the message of salvation first, though, we risk reducing the Church ‘to a nest protecting our mediocrity,’ as the Pope says in another part of the interview.”
This, of course, isn’t radical. And it isn’t a move leftward. It’s probably an entirely healthy conversation.