• Home
  • News
    • Advertising & Magazines
    • Archbishop
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Education
    • National
    • NSW
    • Politics
    • Royal Commission
    • Sports
    • Synod
    • Vatican
    • World
    • Youth
  • Opinion
    • Anna Krohn
    • Archbishop Opinion
    • Fr. John Flader
    • George Weigel
    • Kevin Donnelly
    • Mark Shea
    • Monica Doumit
    • Simcha Fisher
  • Features
    • Health & Wellbeing
    • Quiz
  • Faith
    • Family & Marriage
    • Relationships
    • Religious Life
    • Saints
  • Parenting
  • Multimedia
    • Galleries
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
  • Plenary 2020
  • Subscribe
    • My Account
    • Free Digital Editions
    • Advertise
    • Newsletter Subscription
    • Share Your Story
      • Terms and Conditions for Contributors
    • Circulation
    • Jobs
    • Contact
  •  
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
The Catholic Weekly The Catholic Weekly
- Advertisement -
The Catholic Weekly The Catholic Weekly
  • Home
  • News
    • AllAdvertising & MagazinesArchbishopArts & EntertainmentEducationNationalNSWPoliticsRoyal CommissionSportsSynodVaticanWorldYouth
      News

      Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm

      National

      Don’t waste opportunity to fix aged care, say experts

      Faith

      Inspired by Jesus, many step forward

      Archdiocese News

      Pope Francis honours Sydney Catholics

  • Opinion
    • AllAnna KrohnArchbishop OpinionFr. John FladerGeorge WeigelKevin DonnellyMark SheaMonica DoumitSimcha Fisher
      Opinion

      Plenary Instrumentum Laboris: blissful ignorance is no excuse

      Opinion

      Carolyn Moynihan: Womens’ teams full of muscle

      Opinion

      Monica Doumit: ‘Leave the baby to die’

      Opinion

      Philippa Martyr: Mass figures offer potential ways to adapt

  • Features
    • AllHealth & WellbeingQuiz
      Quiz

      Kids Lenten Quiz

      Happy to be stuck in Australia: the Caron family hopes to make a land Down Under their permanent home. Photo: Michael Boyle Photography
      Features

      Drawn to the Land Down Under

      Health & Wellbeing

      New Greater Sydney rules: masks at Mass and congregations of 100

      Health & Wellbeing

      Vatican issues 20-point call for equitable vaccine access

  • Faith
    • AllFamily & MarriageRelationshipsReligious LifeSaints
      Faith

      Inspired by Jesus, many step forward

      Religious Life

      Seminarians urged to call on gifts among the faithful

      Opinion

      Daniel Ang: Opportunities amid the crisis

      Faith

      Receive the Grace to Go Make Disciples: A Lenten Companion

  • Parenting
  • Multimedia
    • Galleries
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
  • Plenary 2020
    • Plenary 2020

      Catholic youth have a ‘deep yearning for Christ’ says plenary delegate…

      Plenary 2020

      Peter McGregor: Prayerful and Eucharistic Plenary Council Paper

      Archdiocese News

      Plenary ‘map’ is well in hand, says President

      A collection of biblical manuscripts. Photo: CNS photo/courtesy Museum of the Bible
      Plenary 2020

      Peter McGregor: Comments on The Plenary Council Paper

      Opinion

      Precisely which Church? A response to the Plenary Discernment papers

  • Subscribe
    • My Account
    • Free Digital Editions
    • Advertise
    • Newsletter Subscription
    • Share Your Story
      • Terms and Conditions for Contributors
    • Circulation
    • Jobs
    • Contact
  •  
Home News Politics US Congressman Dan Lipinski: Catholic social teaching antidote to sectarianism
  • News
  • Politics

US Congressman Dan Lipinski: Catholic social teaching antidote to sectarianism

By
David Ryan
-
November 18, 2020
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Linkedin
Email
Print
    Reading Time: 4 minutes
    U.S. REP. DAN LIPINSKI U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., gestures as he speaks during the annual March for Life rally in Washington Jan. 18, 2019. Lipinski, a Catholic, recently told Australians that Catholic social teaching is desperately needed to enrich public discourse in the face of increasing political polarization. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

    Catholic social teaching is desperately needed to enrich public discourse in the face of increasing political polarisation

    With a Biden Presidency almost inevitable, an outgoing pro-life Democratic Congressman told Australians that Catholic social teaching is desperately needed to enrich public discourse in the face of increasing political polarisation.

    Congressman Dan Lipinski, a Catholic, addressed the Johno Johnson forum in Australia via Zoom.

    Parties have become a lot more ideological

    “Parties have become a lot more ideological; more left-leaning among Democrats and more right among Republicans,” Lipinski told The Catholic Weekly.

    A protester in Vancouver, Wash., holds up her hands Oct. 31, 2020, as police detain other protesters (CNS photo/Mathieu Lewis-Rolland, Reuters)

    “Western society cannot continue down this road. We no longer try to talk about our differences and see that we  come to some agreement. We need a whole lot more of honest dialogue because ‘cancel culture’ has really hurt us.”

    Western society cannot continue down this road

    Congressman Lipinski has represented the Third District of Illinois in the US House of Representatives since 2005 as a member of the Democratic Party’s centre-left ‘Blue Dog Coalition”- a grouping vaguely akin to Labor’ right faction in Australia.

    He was defeated this year in the Democratic primary by Marie Newman on the issue of abortion.

    Politics has changed over the last five to eight years

    “Politics has changed over the last five to eight years –especially with social media –and the Democratic Party has moved increasingly left in the last couple of years,” he said.
    “Ten years ago, about 25 per cent  of Democratic Party representatives opposed the federal funding of abortion. Now that number is far and few between.

    Dan Lipinski on the Johno Johnson Forum via Zoom https://twitter.com/RepLipinski/status/1321914694102323201/photo/1

    “It is not acceptable in some quarters of the Democratic Party  to be a person of faith, with more people who are joining the Democrats having that attitude.”

    We should put our Catholic faith in front of partisanship

    Congressman Lipinski drew cultural parallels with other western democracies –including Australia –  and emphasised the increasing need for Catholic social teaching as an alternative to the increasing partisanship engulfing social discourse.

    Catholic charity volunteers pass food supplies to be delivered to people in need. To implement the teaching of Pope Francis’ new encyclical “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship,” start by serving the needs of your community. Photo: CNS, courtesy Catholic Charities of San Antonio

    “My Catholic faith is the most important motivator to me and all that I do and we should put our Catholic faith in front of partisanship,” he said.

    “We have a very well-developed set of beliefs and principles but Catholic social thought is unfortunately not well understood – even by Catholics – and a problem we have here in the US is that a Catholic does not fit neatly into either party.”

    What we really need to do is to learn about Catholic social thought

    “What we really need to do is to learn about Catholic social thought and do a whole lot more informing others about it – ideas such as subsidiarity for example.”

    Subsidiarity, the principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralised competent authority, is a key component of Catholic social teaching.

    The late Johno Johnson, pictured in December 2015, doing what he was so well known for doing — fundraising for good causes. Photographer Giovanni Portelli gave his account of meeting Johno and taking his photo on Facebook.

    The Johno Johnson Forum is named for the late New South Wales Labor Parliamentarian Johno Johnson; a devout Catholic. Mr Johnson also served as a Chairman of the board of The Catholic Weekly for many years.

    The forum was established in the wake of rising political sectarianism, to foster discussion of so-called third-way economic and social policies in a respectful manner.

    For more information or to participate email: [email protected]

    • TAGS
    • Cancel Culture
    • Catholic Social Teaching
    • Democratic Party
    • Johno Johnson
    • Labor Party
    • Pro-life
    • United States Politics
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    Linkedin
    Email
    Print
      Previous articleNSW Schools Boss calls for better, smarter regulation
      Next articleThis Catholic Life Podcast: Movies That Make Us Think
      Avatar
      David Ryan
      David Ryan is a graduate of Campion College Australia and journalist at The Catholic Weekly.

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Education

      Humanities ‘rife with identity politics’ says IPA report

      Politics

      “Cardinal Pell’s case could happen to anyone” says Quadrant Editor

      Cardinal Pell’s appeal will go to the Court of Appeal in June. We can only hope that common sense – and justice – prevails, says Peter Westmore.
      Politics

      Ten years jail for praying in Victoria

      Cart

      - Advertisement -

      FEATURES

      Quiz

      Kids Lenten Quiz

      Benjamin Conolly - February 24, 2021
      Lent is here! Test your knowledge on all things Lent right here. Be warned – we won’t make it easy! Related Articles: St Mary of...
      Happy to be stuck in Australia: the Caron family hopes to make a land Down Under their permanent home. Photo: Michael Boyle Photography

      Drawn to the Land Down Under

      January 22, 2021

      New Greater Sydney rules: masks at Mass and congregations of 100

      January 2, 2021

      Vatican issues 20-point call for equitable vaccine access

      December 31, 2020

      MOST POPULAR

      Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm

      March 5, 2021

      Plenary Instrumentum Laboris: blissful ignorance is no excuse

      March 4, 2021

      Carolyn Moynihan: Womens’ teams full of muscle

      March 4, 2021
      - Advertisement -

      Recent Posts

      Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm

      March 5, 2021

      Plenary Instrumentum Laboris: blissful ignorance is no excuse

      March 4, 2021

      Carolyn Moynihan: Womens’ teams full of muscle

      March 4, 2021

      Archdiocesan News

      Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm

      March 5, 2021

      Don’t waste opportunity to fix aged care, say experts

      March 3, 2021

      Pope Francis honours Sydney Catholics

      March 1, 2021

      Latest Opinion

      Plenary Instrumentum Laboris: blissful ignorance is no excuse

      March 4, 2021

      Carolyn Moynihan: Womens’ teams full of muscle

      March 4, 2021

      Monica Doumit: ‘Leave the baby to die’

      March 4, 2021
      The Catholic Weekly
      ABOUT US
      The Catholic Weekly is proudly Catholic, proudly counter-cultural, proudly in favour of life. We strive to share our vision of the Church, the Lord and the life-changing possibilities of the Christian path with our readers, providing a degree of Catholic News clarity for complex times.
      Contact us: [email protected]
      FOLLOW US
      • Share Your Story
      • Privacy Policy
      • Advertise
      • Collection Notice
      • Copyright
      • Contact
      • About Us
      © The Catholic Weekly 2021 | All Rights Reserved | ABN 60 471 267 587
      MORE STORIES

      Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm

      March 5, 2021

      Plenary Instrumentum Laboris: blissful ignorance is no excuse

      March 4, 2021