Bishops:
Remain committed to principles despite their critics

		Eye on the  Capitol  John Huebscher

The late Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois liked to tell a story of a voter he met on the campaign trail. "Senator," the man said, "you say you are man of principle. But today you took a position that is the opposite of what you said last year."

"I am a man of principle," Dirksen retorted. "And the first of my principles is flexibility."

Those who debate public policy model such flexibility in their arguments and in their choice of allies. They willingly cite those who agree with them with wisdom, objectivity, and moral authority. Should the same people oppose them on some other issue, they become out of touch, short sighted, and unfit to enter the debate.

Quick to oppose

This dichotomy came to mind recently announced when State Representative Frank Boyle announced his intent to propose conferring legal status to domestic partnerships. Boyle said he welcomed opposition to his plan from Wisconsin's Roman Catholic bishops. Arguing that the Catholic Church is out of touch on matters of human sexuality, Boyle said Catholic opposition would enhance the bill's chances in the legislature.

Last year, Justice Antonin Scalia played the same card in a different hand when he dismissed the bishops' opposition to the death penalty. Like Boyle, he suggested that the bishops' views on crime and punishment are "far from being representative . . . that they are currently the object of intense national (and entirely ecumenical) criticism."

Desirable allies

There is no doubt that the events of the last couple of years have not enhanced Catholic advocacy in the public square. But it is nonetheless true that the bishops' conferences in Wisconsin and other states remain desirable allies in public debates.

Rep. Boyle may dismiss the bishops' voice on domestic partnership. It is quite likely he will welcome it when discussion turns to the death penalty, access to affordable health care, and paying a living wage to workers.

Similarly one can imagine that Justice Scalia, though he decries the bishops' exhortation against capital punishment, is gratified by their defense of heterosexual marriage, their continued opposition to abortion and assisted suicide, and their advocacy for the right of religiously inspired arguments to be heard in the village square.

Stick to principles

Tactics aside, the ultimate credibility of any participants in public debates is grounded in the truth of their argument, not the spotlessness of their character - no human being enters the village square free of sin or past mistakes.

In the short run, one's contribution to any debate may be damaged by bad judgment. But those who demonstrate wisdom and character over the long term will remain persuasive to their fellow citizens.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee recognized this in his address to the legislature. Conceding that bishops, like legislators, make mistakes, he observed that human frailty does not relieve any of us from our obligation to contribute as citizens. Rather, he noted, people expect their leaders, even when contrite over their mistakes, to remain committed to their mission.

In the end, the bishops' ongoing commitment to principle will endure longer than the "flexibility" exhibited by their critics.

John Huebscher is executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.