In this age of ideological extremism, it is tempting to ask where on the ideological map we might place the Catholic Church and her doctrine and tradition. Are Catholics conservatives? Or ought we to be liberals? Or should we be progressives, working for a more just society? Or none of the above?
As far as our beliefs are concerned, the First Vatican Council of 1870 gave us a solid standard for what is required of Catholics:
“Further, all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching (magisterium), proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed.”
Here is the gold standard for Catholics: that we accept all that the Church has authoritatively taught. This is what is called “orthodoxy,” meaning “right belief.” And this is what is expected of Catholics worldwide, now and always.
For if we believe that our Lord has entrusted his saving Gospel message to a visible Church, then it follows that we should look to that Church for our knowledge of the Gospel. The Church is our sure guide to the truth about God and how we are to live in this world so as to attain eternal life.
It is tempting, though, to try to locate this standard of orthodoxy on our current ideological map. And many try to do just that. Conservative, some say, because obviously we try to conserve what is true and good. Progressive, others might say, because we hope to progress toward a more just world. But actually, it is neither.
Sometimes the Church’s teachings will appear as what we call conservative (e.g., on marriage or sexuality), sometimes as what we call liberal (e.g., on economic justice or war). But it is a mistake to borrow these secular terms and try to apply them in the theological realm.
There is only orthodoxy, and any departure from that is a departure into error, whether that error is called conservatism or liberalism.
Moreover, secular ideologies evolve and shift while the Church’s teaching does not. It is really irrelevant whether any of the Church’s precepts coincide at any particular point with any secular philosophy. We as Catholics must uphold all of those precepts, regardless of how they fit in, or don’t fit in, with any particular one of our current political or cultural blocs.
The terms “conservative” and “liberal” are problematic enough even in the areas of politics or culture but transported into the realm of theology they become absolutely meaningless.
Moreover, aside from our concern with truth, there is another reason why it’s important not to allow Catholic doctrine to be labeled as conservative or liberal or progressive. Each of these terms carries tremendous baggage. No matter how hard anyone tries to distinguish conservative Catholicism or liberal Catholicism from their secular counterparts, most people will not notice that and will simply translate those terms onto the familiar political landscape and label the Church as simply another actor in our tiresome ideological quarrels.
And so, we will automatically alienate at the outset about half of our fellow citizens, those whom we should be trying to convert to Catholicism, not disaffect by our foolish use of terms. If we preach and teach all the tenets of the faith, our hearers will discover soon enough that sometimes we might seem very conservative, sometimes surprising liberal.
But if we proclaim the whole Gospel, we will be always Catholic, regardless of how anyone will want to label or pigeonhole us. Because we have the entire Catholic faith, the pearl of great price, to offer to all people at all times.
Thomas Storck is the author, editor or translator of 10 books and numerous articles in print and online. His latest book is “The Prosperity Gospel: How Greed and Bad Philosophy Distorted Christ’s Teaching” (TAN Books, 2023). He is a contributing editor for “New Oxford Review” and a member of the editorial board of “The Chesterton Review.” Storck and his wife, Inez, are members of Westerville St. Paul Church.
