by Paul Gessing

I was at my local Catholic church one Sunday recently and had the opportunity to listen to a homily from a priest that made me question both my own values and the Church’s. The homily in question discussed the Beatitudes. If you are not familiar with those, there are a total of eight of them and they go something like this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek…”

The point of the priest’s homily on this particular Sunday was that as Christians, it is our job to be “countercultural.” That is, that the Beatitudes are telling us to show by our very actions that we as Christians embrace a value system that is radically different from the morally-corrupt society at large. After all, what good is it to believe in Christ and religion if you don’t put those ideas into action?

At the end of the service, during the final announcements, as if to spur me to question the Church’s moral underpinnings further, there was a call for anyone interested in gathering for prayer outside of a local abortion clinic. This was not a protest, but prayer, and I felt that – although I don’t believe 100% of the Church’s teachings on birth control, abstinence, and abortion – the plea for people to put the church’s message into action was commendable.

As I pondered the value of praying outside of an abortion clinic and the truly countercultural import of such an activity, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if the Church applied its ‘pro-life’ message and encouraged its followers to do the same on issues of war and peace?” While I don’t begrudge the Catholic Church for its firm pro-life stance, and I know that both the current and previous popes have spoken out forcefully against the Iraq War, where are the grassroots? Where are the Catholics protesting or praying against war?

Sure, I know that there are dedicated Catholics and Christian organizations organized against the School of the Americas and other militaristic entities. But why the fixation on the unborn when Americans and Iraqis with husbands, wives, and children relying on them are dying every day? How powerful would it be if churches of all religions throughout the nation held prayer vigils against unnecessary wars whether in Iraq, Iran, or elsewhere?

I do believe that Christians, if they actually believe what Christ himself taught when he walked among us on this planet, should be pro-life whether the issue is abortion, the death penalty, or war. All believers should focus on what their faith means to them and whether being for unnecessary wars and being a Christian are really compatible.

The problem, of course, goes back to being “countercultural” and how far even faith-based entities like the Church can go and still maintain broad-based support. After all, a church without any people is not really a church at all.

Ultimately, while priests and other religious officials can preach the importance of peaceful nonviolence and being “countercultural,” if they go too far, they will lose popularity and ultimately their jobs. Certainly the anti-war message can be more prominent in a “liberal” church than a “conservative” congregation and I’m sure more are speaking out forcefully as the Iraq War has become less popular than did when the country was in the heat of its patriotic fervor.

Regardless of attempts to be countercultural, mainstream church’s including the Catholic Church simply can only take things so far. In fact the Pope and higher-ranking officials who are more insulated from the travails of parish life have more freedom to speak forcefully on controversial matters – including war and peace.

If you want a countercultural church that truly preaches the anti-war message, the Quakers are one prominent option. Unfortunately, by their very nature as “mainstream” faiths, the Catholic Church and others are too constrained by what amounts to political reality and popular pressure to be truly countercultural. In our war-like culture, that means that it is much easier to take a firm position against abortion than it is to take a vigorous anti-war stance. That’s nothing but politics.

Paul Gessing is a senior editor for The Free Liberal.