Archbishop Chaput on the Hugh Hewitt Show

Archbishop Chaput has been a very busy man of late. He’s just come out with a new book from Doubleday entitled Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life . There is also his recent article on real hope and change here at First Things . And sometime during all of this he managed to sit down for an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. Here are some interesting highlights:

Well, there’s tremendous amount of energy in the Church. I just came back a couple of weeks ago from Australia, and World Youth Day. And to see all those young people gathered together because they were called together by Pope Benedict was a heartening experience. And so even though the practice is small in some ways, the people who are faithful Catholics seem to be reenergized and really committed. So perhaps we’re at the point of a new Pentacost, as Pope John Paul II sometimes talked about our time. I certainly hope so, and you know, the Church was much smaller then. And in the course of a couple hundred years, converted the whole Roman empire. So I hope we can reconvert ourselves by cooperating with the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives these days.
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I think it’s a duty of a good Catholic not only to vote, but to know the issues. It’s more than just voting. You know, voting is kind of a minimal thing, but a vote is foolish if it’s not based on knowledge. So we have to know candidates, we have to be aware of party platforms, we have to be really engaged on the issues or our votes will be wasted, and maybe even turned in the wrong direction.
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If I was a member of Congress, and I voted for a bill that encouraged abortion or funded abortion, or encouraged access to abortion, I would be complicit in a very direct way in the abortions that would flow from that, from voting for that bill, and I participated. I was actively involved in something that led to the death of others who are innocent. And you can see why, I mean, I think everybody looking at it naturally can see why this is not a position that would be in communion with where our Church stands. And when you go to Communion, it’s not only an issue of personal worthiness, it’s an issue of integrity. You shouldn’t say you’re in communion with the Church unless you are. And going to Communion is not just the private relationship with God. It’s a corporate relationship with His community, His bride, the Church. And it would be a lie to pretend you’re in communion with the Church when you’re not. So going to Communion under those circumstances is lying.