Fostering civil dialogue at Spring Enrichment

In the prayer attributed to St Francis, we hear several phrases that seem particularly relevant to the political climate of today.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light....Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.”

Using this prayer as a guide, Catholic Charities’ Commission on Peace and Justice will offer a course on “Civil Dialogue in the Church and the World” at this year’s Spring Enrichment, which will be held at The College of Saint Rose in Albany May 16-18.

Spring Enrichment is a series of courses, workshops and keynote addresses on various aspects of faith. It is targeted to catechists, youth ministers, teachers and anyone in parish ministries and other aspects of Church life.

The call to civil dialogue is not new for Catholics. In 2012, Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl wrote: “The preacher’s pulpit, the politician’s podium and the print and electronic media all bear some responsibility to encourage a far more civil, responsible and respectful approach to national debate and the discussion of issues in our country today.”

What does civil dialogue have to do with the world around us? In a word, everything. As Cardinal Wuerl noted, “No community, human or divine, political or religious, can exist without trust. At the very core of all human relations is the confidence that members speak the truth to each other.

“It is for this reason that God explicitly protected the bonds of community by prohibiting falsehood as a grave attack on the human spirit: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor’ (Ex 20:16). To tamper with the truth or, worse yet, to pervert it, is to undermine the foundations of human community and to begin to cut the threads that weave us into a coherent human family.”

“Un-civil” dialogue is marked by disrespect, anger, misrepresentations and outright lies. The goal of the Spring Enrichment course is to help people focus more on values such as respect, honesty, humility and listening.

Rather than trying to win each argument, participants will learn to understand what their opponents are trying to express and why they might hold differing opinions.

This is especially important because recent studies have shown that dislike for one’s opponents is a greater motivator for voters than support of their party.

The practice of voting against a candidate rather than for a candidate has increased steadily since the election in 2000. It reached a new height in the last presidential election, when the nominees of both the Republican and Democratic parties were viewed more negatively than positively.

In the Catholic tradition, proclaiming the Gospel requires changing both hearts and minds, Dialogue that is not civil hardens hearts and closes minds. It is antithetical to the call to love both our neighbors and our enemies.

“Civil Dialogue in the Church and the World” will be offered May 17, 7-9 p.m. To register, go to https://springenrichment.weebly.com/register.html.

(Deacon Ayres is director of the Commission on Peace and Justice.)