Monday, February 28, 2011
Should Newt Gingrich's marital history be relevant to Catholic voters?
Newt Gingrich is apparently on the verge of launching his presidential bid, and he is making an effort to connect with religious conservatives. A recent convert to Catholicism, Gingrich is outspoken about the need to make space for religion in public life, even comparing the U.S. today to 1979 Poland, with a "cultural elite" trying to create a secularized country. Gingrich also has a checkered past on the marital front, of course. As such, there is some skepticism that religious conservatives will embrace him. (There also is quite a bit of glee, I'm sure, among reporters who will get lots of opportunities to skewer a "family values" candidate for hypocrisy.) My question is this: to what extent should Catholics consider Gingrich's history of divorce and infidelity in evaluating his candidacy? Is it enough that he expresses regret for his actions, or is even that unnecessary without a nexus between the misconduct and his ability to govern? Any Thomists want to chime in?
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2011/02/should-newt-gingrichs-marital-history-be-relevant-to-catholic-voters.html
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I am not, of course, a Thomist (at least not that I know of), but I am going to take the liberty of responding anyway. By way of a warning, my thoughts are not focused on Catholicism, because I believe that the concerns raised in the original post are matters that should be of general concern to all Americans.
In my view, Newt Gingrich's marital history does not matter in itself. What matters far more to me are the following: (1) his hypocrisy to the extent that he purports to embrace a family values platform while living in a manner that calls the sincerity of that embrace into question, and (2) concerns about his capacity (or lack thereof) for the crucial human values of honesty, loyalty and commitment. In my opinion, everyone considering supporting any candidate should examine not just what they say, but also what they do. Is someone capable of the massive disloyalty and deception in his private life that Mr. Gingrich seems to have exhibited someone we want running the country? Mr. Gingrich spent many years engaged in various betrayals of and deceptions against various spouses. Surely a short-term expression of repentance is inadequate to enable the public to trust him, whatever the religious significance of any acts of contrition he has performed.