The "Cuomo argument," revisited

Some thoughts about the role of religious faith, believers, and claims in policy and political debates, from a student in my "Catholic Social Thought and the Law" class:

Inspired by the public debate that arose most recently during the Republican primary concerning whether and to what extent politicians should rely on their religious convictions when making policy decision (see Santorum’s comments on JFK’s speech and ensuing hoopla), I decided to write a short-paper on Catholic politicians’ support of abortion rights—specifically, the assertion that a Catholic can justifiably be “pro-life” in private while pro-choice when acting in the public sphere. This led me to Mario Cuomo’s famous speech at Notre Dame from 1984, which I decided to critique. One of his core arguments to justify his position was that the Church  does not demand particular “political” strategies to achieving its public morality goals. As Cuomo explains: “I repeat, there is no Church teaching that mandates the best political course for making our belief everyone’s rule.” Thus, a Catholic politician can be justified in refusing to force his beliefs on others since there are other issues related to the protection of life that are equally viable political tactics to realize this principle that all life has intrinsic value.

Yet this argument misses a critical doctrinal distinction between the roles of the Church (in not providing political strategies) and that of the laity.  Cuomo fails to appreciate the distinction between the Church, which has the role to participate through education and example in the shaping of the moral values of society, and the laity, who have the “corresponding moral responsibility…to hear, receive, and act upon the Church’s teaching in the lifelong task of forming his or her own conscience.”   Thus the Church can and should be very reluctant to advocate for specific policies to achieve its goals, but the laity have the moral responsibility to take the Church’s teachings and apply them in their actions, both public and private. What Cuomo is dismissing as a particular “political course” for anti-abortion supporters is actually a tangible obligation, which flows from a principle claim that all life, from the moment of conception, has inherent human dignity and cannot be intentionally destroyed by man.