Amen, Father Joe!

At church this weekend, I was excited to see that it was Father Joe who had mass. Father Joe retired over a year ago because of serious health problems. (At one point, both of our priests were on sick leave. One was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer; Father Joe nearly died from a combination of an asthma attack and diabetes.) He’s my favorite priest at my parish. He’s spunky. He’s got this great, gravelly voice that makes you laugh but also makes you think. No matter how tired I am or how much Alex is distracting me, I always get something out of his sermons. He also usually tells some sort of funny story at the beginning of mass, as well.

This past Sunday, Father Joe said something that made me want to stand up and applaud. He started off talking about how politics and religion can’t mix. It’s okay to support one candidate or the other because of your religious convictions, but you should check your campaign materials at the door. Because the Church is a house of God. And God and Jesus don’t care who you’re going to vote for. He said priests are not allowed to divulge their political leanings because it’s inappropriate (you know, separation of church and state). And if it’s inappropriate for a priest to publicly support one candidate, he thinks it’s inappropriate for God’s children to show their political colors in church. So he asked everyone to remove any campaign buttons from their jackets or blouses and put them away while they were in church. Because in church, there should be one focus.

Election time is very exciting for me as a journalist. Well, it used to be anyway. Being out of the news game has been particularly hard for me this year. I love to watch how the political process unfolds. From the lame, completely scripted and rehearsed debates, to the impassioned speeches of candidates. I love driving down my street and seeing one neighbor with a McCain sign and then next house down with an Obama sign. Freedom of speech ROCKS! And I love that we, the people, get to elect our leaders. I mean, democracy is awesome!

But many of you also know that for me, politics is intensely personal. I don’t like discussing politics. I don’t like the media being bashed for doing its job. (And for those of you confused, there is a huge difference between JOURNALISTS who report the news and COMMENTATORS who blather on and are clearly partisan. If you need me to explain the difference, I’ll put it in another post.) I do my best to keep my political opinions to myself. I don’t often broach the subject, because I don’t want to have to say who I support. It’s my business and no one else’s.

I almost hesitate to post this, because I know some of my friends enjoy discussing politics. They put their politics right out there for everyone to see. I admire you for that, just as I hope you admire me for feeling just as strong that I keep my political leanings to myself.

So to hear Father Joe up there telling everyone to leave politics at the door did my heart some good. I wanted to jump up and shout “Amen, Father Joe!” Because he’s right on. I realize that a lot of political issues are influenced by religion. I have no problem with that. Support who you want to support and do so with conviction and passion. Just remember, I don’t want talk about it.