On Sunday, July 6, we celebrated Mass with the Gospel reading about Jesus sending out the 72 to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God was near (Luke 10:1-12). What would have happened if they had walked through the towns and villages in silence?
In 2024, I wrote about the potential consequences of the presidential election: In the articles, I put forth principles of Catholic social teaching as well as concerns about both candidates (and their political parties), with the hope that people would do their own research and decide which would do less harm.
If President Donald Trump’s executive orders, tariff plan or lack thereof, reckless dismantling of government agencies, and immigration enforcement actions haven’t swayed you, maybe the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act will. Unfortunately, it is too late. The damage done with his election on November 5, 2024, will be felt for decades, especially among the poor.
Shame on the Catholic community for not voicing enough concerns about what we knew would happen. As a candidate, Trump said what he would do, and unlike most presidents, he is following through on his campaign promises. We should not be surprised at the extremism in the bill or the preceding executive orders, as he told us what he intended to do.
The damage to the poor was telegraphed for months and the Church was silent. Is it timid and afraid of losing the financial support of its wealthy members for taking a stand against Trump? I may be wrong, but it sure feels like the silence was more out of fear and apathy than it was support of the pro-life components of the bill.
For the few Catholic leaders and lay persons who spoke up over the past couple of weeks, thank you for your efforts. It was too little, too late, but you voiced your concerns. Where was your voice over the past year? Where was the call to action when the bill first came out or when the mass deportations began? Did you think a president who promised to deport millions of illegal immigrants would stop only at hardcore criminals? Did you fail to grasp the reality that anyone here in this country illegally is a “criminal” and thus subject to Trump’s own definition and, by law, deportation?
The silence of American Catholics is disheartening. We should have been the voice that stopped this bill from becoming law. We, the American Catholic community, failed to let our voices ring out. We failed to fight proposed legislation that we knew would do harm to the poor and the environment. We failed to share what the Bible teaches us about right and wrong. We failed in our Christian duty to love our brothers and sisters (Mark 12:30-31), to watch out for widows and orphans (Zechariah 7:9-10), to show hospitality to immigrants (Zechariah 7:9-10), and to be good stewards of God’s creation (“Laudato Si”). Need I go on? We also failed to take into consideration what we profess every Sunday in the penitential Act: “I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.”
I do not blame Trump for the passage of this bill. He did not write it, nor did he vote on it. He may have bullied members of Congress to vote for it, but that is what presidents do. The Republican members of Congress created this legislation, and it continues the giveaways to the wealthy that were started with the 2001 tax cuts. As a Catholic, I could support the cuts to social programs if the legislation did not include tax cuts and corporate giveaways. If we were balancing the budget, I would appreciate the poor being asked to contribute. Since we are in fact increasing our national debt, this bill is unconscionable for the negative impact it will have on numerous groups and especially the poor. The perceived moral benefits of the bill do not outweigh the negative consequences.
We knew it was coming, and we did nothing to stop it. At the end of the day, Republicans made it clear that providing benefits to the wealthy is their approach to governance, no matter the ill effects. The saddest part of this whole situation is watching people, especially Catholics, talk about (and believe) the good they believe this bill will do for America. This bill is worse than trickle-down economics and it will lead to a larger wealth gap, a higher national debt, and an increased number of people living in poverty.
It may be years before real harm is felt, but the pain will be real for individuals, families, and communities. Our nation will never be the same! God asks more from us than this big bill and we failed to live up to our Christian values. We would’ve been better off risking a recession than rushing this bill into legislation. Unfortunately, most members of Congress do not have the backbone to do what is right. I wonder how many have been in the confessional this month, asking forgiveness for their role in this matter.
Forgiveness is coming from God. I just pray that he doesn’t hold this action against us. We can and should do better. Our duty as Catholics is higher than the duty of an ordinary Christian. We are the keepers of the faith, and it is our duty to hold Christians accountable to follow God’s teachings rather than the whims of people. We have a duty and a responsibility to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves!
I will say it again: the Church’s voice has failed, because we failed to lead on one of the most consequential pieces of legislation over the past 50 years. Let us now lift up our prayers for forgiveness and send praise to God so that he might touch our hearts, forgive our silence, and minimize the damage to those most in need.
If you feel I am being judgmental or hypocritical, let me share with you 2 Timothy 4:2-4:
“I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
We are witnessing this now. Our continued silence has caused this scripture passage to be fulfilled. Are we not committing spiritual idolatry by pursuing self-interest and financial gain while following leaders who put forth policies and legislation that is counter to what Christ teaches? Is not our failure to act an indication of our woeful faith? St. James the Apostle was clear: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
If we remain silent, how are we putting our faith into practice? I ask myself: Did God allow this to happen to challenge the Catholic Church to move past complacency and return to the harvest field—the periphery where the poor, the neglected, and the unseen live? As the Bible is clear that it is God who allows people to be in leadership (Romans 13:1), we must consider this a wake-up call to get back to our missionary roots. It is time to leave the confines of our beautiful churches and go help the increasing number of poor people in our nation and the world.
There is a need for increased evangelization and service delivery and we each must ask ourselves: Am I up to the challenge? Am I willing to show my love for God by serving those most in need? Am I willing to tithe any potential benefits I receive from the new budget to the Church, to help it fulfill its mission?
“Gaudium et Spes,” the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the church in the modern world, says that “[the] split between the faith which many profess and their lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” 50 years later, we still struggle with this reality. Regardless of our political affiliations, personal inclinations, or issues with “isms”, our lives should reflect our love for God in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. We have a lot of work to do.
Ronald E. Smith, Ed.D is a lifelong Catholic who enjoys writing. He is a Rotarian, member of the Thea Bowman Council #406 of the Knights of Peter Claver, and a parishioner at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Dana Point, California, and St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Rubuguri, Uganda. He and his wife Sandy recently founded Friends of St. Kizito Rubuguri Primary School in Rubuguri, Uganda, where they serve as missionaries. He can be reached at resmithinc@aol.com.
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