Christian = Conservative?

[Madame Vengier]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1768752' date='Feb 1 2009, 06:07 PM']I agree.

I don't think that people should apply political terms (right / left, conservative / liberal) to the Church.[/quote]


I don't think that's what the OP meant. I THINK he was asking (at least as I understood it) if Christians have to pick a party that most closely aligns with core Judeo-Christian values, would it be right or left.

The answer, for me, is absolutely the right. But there is no perfect political platform for an earnest Christian.

[Saint Therese]

I think the Church by her nature is conservative. One of her primary duties is to conserve and pass on the teachings of the Apostles.

Malcolm Muggeridge said that he thought liberalism would be more detrimental to society in the long run than either Communism or Nazism.

That being said there have been many Saints who fell on both sides of the spectrum.

Edited February 2, 2009 by Saint Therese

[Socrates]

[quote name='Wolf' post='1768723' date='Feb 1 2009, 05:46 PM']Does our faith align itself more closely with right or left politics?

Just wondering.[/quote]
We should ask instead, which politics align more closely with our Faith.

While the terms "right" and "left" can be somewhat ambiguous, and mean somewhat different things in different times and places, I would have to say that in today's world, the Church's teachings are definitely considered "conservative," and that the Left is incompatible with the Catholic Faith. The modern Left's continuous and near-fanatical promotion of abortion, homosexuality, and other immorality is clearly at odds with Catholic moral teaching.
Also, modern so-called "liberalism" is socialistic in nature, and all forms of socialism, including the liberal "welfare state" have been soundly condemned by the Church, and are contrary with the teaching of subsidiarity.
As Pope Pius XI declared in the encyclical [i]Quadragesimo Anno[/i], "No one can be at the same time sincere Catholic and a true socialist."

When weighing moral issues, one should also take into account the words of our current Holy Father:[quote]Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.[/quote]