I know many Catholics in New York City, including myself, have wondered if it's OK to vote for Zohran Mamdani in this November’s general election for mayor. The reasons are complex.
The Catholic Church has persecuted socialists and communists. The socialists and communists have persecuted Catholics. Even so, there have been many Catholic socialists, such as the late congressman Vito Marcantonio, who represented East Harlem in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years in the mid-20th century.
The day Marcantonio died, they found a Rosary in his pockets. People of all races mourned him because of his work for the disadvantaged. Despite Marcantonio's reception of Last Rites, the Catholic leadership would not give him a Catholic funeral—apparently because he was a socialist. Servant of God Dorothy Day gave the eulogy at a funeral home.
Many people—presumably including thousands of Catholics—voted for Mamdani in the Democratic primary because of his proposals to address the needs of the marginalized in New York. His win was also helped by his stance against the Palestinian genocide in Gaza, perpetrated by the Israeli government with support from the United States.
To be clear, I don't agree with Mamdani on everything. Even so, I see many commonalities between democratic socialism (which Mamdani believes in) and Catholic social doctrine, liberation theology, the Bible, and the writings of many saints who championed social justice and opposed capitalism.
“In many respects, democratic socialism was and is close to Catholic social doctrine and has, in any case, made a remarkable contribution to the formation of a social consciousness.”
(Pope Benedict XIV, “Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam,” 2007)
“The problem that is behind this, that you have rightly touched on, is the socio-political reduction of the Gospel message. If I see the Gospel in a sociological way only, yes, I am a communist, and so too is Jesus. Behind these Beatitudes and Matthew 25, there is a message that is Jesus’ own. And that is to be Christian. The communists stole some of our Christian values.”
(Pope Francis, America magazine, 2022)
When discussing his democratic socialist views, Mamdani has referenced a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God's children.”
(Speech to the Negro American Labor Council, 1961)
Mamdani says this pursuit of human dignity and opposition to income inequality is what he is focused on. Accordingly, the New York Times recently reports that many wealthy New Yorkers have rallied to support former Gov. Andrew Cuomo—another Democrat—in his campaign for mayor, plotting to somehow stop the election of Mamdani.
I, for one, believe in democracy, although I think we do not live in one here in the United States. Many socialists and communists have done a poor job in governing their countries, but here in the United States, corporations and the rich control our politicians almost without exception. It was the will of Democratic New Yorkers to elect Mamdani as the party’s nominee, and if he is elected mayor, the rich and powerful should respect the people's will.
Admittedly, I still don't have much hope in politicians. But it has been inspiring to see so many people in New York excited about the possibility of socioeconomic change. On the other hand, it has been depressing to see how many politicians, magnates, and conservatives only care about themselves.
Even President Trump is getting involved to try to sabotage Mamdani—as is Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire media outlet, which has published work from a professor in Tennessee encouraging New Yorkers not to support Mamdani.
I pray that whomever we elect, the Catholic Church will support the new mayor when working together is possible, and that the faithful will stand up if he is not doing enough for the oppressed.
Félix Cepeda is a former Jesuit brother who served in the Dominican Republic. He is an intersectional, anti-capitalist Catholic activist working in New York City and the Dominican Republic.
