Beware politicos who claim God’s with them

The Catholic Church does not endorse political parties or candidates, but it may favour certain policies. Pope Leo XIV voted in the Nov. 3 American midterm election, apparently the first time a pope has voted in a democratic election. We won’t know who he voted for, and even if we did, it isn’t material to how other informed Catholics should vote.

More pertinent were the young people holding up signs that said “Love Your Neighbor” at a Democratic Party rally. Jesus’ version of the Greatest Commandment was more fulsome: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ . . . And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Matthew 22.37-39)

A nation that honours the Greatest Commandment is off to a good start. By doing so, a legislature recognizes that its dominion is relative to that of God. God, being God, comes first. Those who truly love God with all their heart and all their soul and all their mind will look deeply into their consciences before passing any legislation. They may not agree with each other, but they will seek God’s guidance.

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That doesn’t mean the Church gets to dictate civil legislation, an act that would distort not only our politics but also the Church herself. A long, unfortunate history of throne-and-altar alliances bears that out.

Further, as soon as religion even finds a crack in the door to the political realm, some bombastic types will claim that God is on their side. Typically, when someone makes that claim, God is elsewhere. The real test of a civilized society is how it treats the most vulnerable.

Also, making the second commandment the most important one would go a long way toward humanizing society. The needs of the poor, the sick, the hungry, the stranger and the disabled are met before we even consider giving tax breaks to those who are well fed and have decent housing. Too often forgotten is perhaps the most marginalized of all, the unborn child.

The American midterm elections showed a distinct shift in support from Republicans to Democrats. Commentators are parsing that in different ways, most often saying ordinary people feel the cost of living has gotten away on them. They also see what I would deem the scandalously wealthy receiving even more government help.

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They see their country at war, mass deportations of immigrants, the massive growth of Big Tech and data centres, threats to annex Canada and Greenland, an obsession with the White House ballroom and tariff wars that boost prices both in their country and abroad. Loving one’s neighbour does not seem to be the prime concern for those in power.

Americans went to the polls and elected four Black state governors, including two women, an Indigenous woman governor and Indigenous woman senator, two Latino governors and a Muslim senator. Several of those groups elected members for the first time. 

You don’t have to unconditionally support any political party to take note when one party builds its platform to help those on the margins of society, while the other aligns itself with the wealthy. When we love our neighbours, we love all of them. But some people need help more than others. The government’s first job should be to ensure they get it.

Issues are not always cut-and-dried. Reasoned debate can take place over the best way to help those in need. However, our Christian faith demands that we not let the poor and hungry Lazarus, covered with sores, lie unattended at the gate. The rich man in Jesus’ story who did so was tormented in Hades.

Nor can we pass off all concern for the marginalized to governments. Jesus can be found in the faces of the dispossessed, and conversely, we are called to be Jesus’ healing presence to them. Our encounter with Jesus is also a personal encounter with those in need.

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Some present-day crises are beyond governments’ capacity to overcome, such as the growing crises of loneliness and isolation. In such cases, the cry to love your neighbour can be met only with a personal touch. 

The old slogan, “vote as you please, but please vote,” is not enough. Conscience calls us to love our neighbour in all circumstances, including at the ballot box.

(Argan is a Catholic Register columnist and former editor of the Western Catholic Reporter. He writes his online column Epiphany.)

A version of this article appeared in the November 15, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Beware politicos who claim God’s with them".