The urgency of the hour

Mitt  Romney: Mormon Candidate at Baptist  Liberty Univ.
By Keith A  Fournier
May 15th, 2012
Catholic Online
http://www.catholic.org


LYNCHBURG,  VA (Catholic Online) - On Saturday May 12, 2012, Mitt Romney,
the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party who will contend  with
President Barack Obama in one of the most important  Presidential elections in
the history of the United States,  surprised many, including me.

The  fact that a Mormon, a member of the Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, would be the  commencement speaker at the Baptist  University
founded by Dr Jerry Falwell  speaks to the urgency of the hour. Add to this
the fact that  this Catholic Editor in Chief of Catholic Online would consider
the speech important enough to make it the lead article, and the  point is
made even clearer.

Governor Romney  addressed a graduating class of 14,012 and a crowd
estimated at  over 30,000 people. That made it the largest crowd of the 2012
campaign. His speech was deeply respectful. He affirmed the  founder of the
University, the late Dr Jerry  Falwell:

"The calling Jerry answered was not an  easy one. Today we remember him as
a courageous and big-hearted  minister of the Gospel who never feared an
argument, and never  hated an adversary. Jerry deserves the tribute he would
have  treasured most, as a cheerful, confident champion for Christ. I  will
always remember his cheerful good humor and  selflessness"

He affirmed the  Liberty graduates noting, "You know  what you believe. You
know who you are. And you know Whom you  will serve.  Not all colleges
instill that kind of  confidence, but it will be among the most prized qualities
from  your education here. Moral certainty, clear standards, and a
commitment to spiritual ideals will set you apart in a world  that searches for
meaning."

"That said, your values  will not always be the object of public
admiration. In fact, the  more you live by your beliefs, the more you will endure the
censure of the world. Christianity is not the faith of the  complacent, the
comfortable or of the timid. It demands and  creates heroic souls like
Wesley, Wilberforce, Bonheoffer, John  Paul the Second, and Billy Graham. Each
showed, in their own  way, the relentless and powerful influence of the
message of  Jesus Christ. May that be your guide."

Mitt Romney  even managed to weave in an affirmation of his former rival,
my  friend and preferred candidate, former Senator Rick Santorum. In  his
emphasis on the importance of the culture, he told the  graduates, "You enter a
world with civilizations and economies  that are far from equal. Harvard
historian David Landes devoted  his lifelong study to understanding why some
civilizations rise,  and why others falter.  His conclusion: Culture makes
all  the difference. Not natural resources, not geography, but what  people
believe and value. Central to  America 's rise to global leadership  is our
Judeo-Christian tradition, with its vision of the  goodness and possibilities
of every  life."

"The  American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity  of
work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion  to a purpose
greater than self, and, at the foundation, the  pre-eminence of the family. The
power of these values is  evidenced by a Brookings Institution study that
Sen. Rick  Santorum brought to my attention. For those who graduate from
high school, get a full-time job, and marry before they have  their first
child, the probability that they will be poor is  2%.  But, if those things are
absent, 76% will be poor.  Culture matters."

Then,  in the line quoted most from the speech by the media, Romney  stood
firmly and squarely for marriage and the family and free  society founded
upon it noting, "As fundamental as these  principles are, they may become
topics of democratic debate. So  it is today with the enduring institution of
marriage. Marriage  is a relationship between one man and one  woman."



He  was equally firm on the vital issue of religious freedom noting,  "The
protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of  debate. It
strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious  faith is sometimes
treated as a problem, something  America is stuck with instead of  blessed with.
Perhaps religious conscience upsets the  designs of those who feel that the
highest wisdom and authority  comes from government."

"But from the beginning,  this nation trusted in God, not man. Religious
liberty is the  first freedom in our Constitution. And whether the cause is
justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the  sick, or mercy
for the child waiting to be born, there is no  greater force for good in the
nation than Christian conscience  in action."

"Religious freedom opens a door for  Americans that is closed to too many
others around the world.  But whether we walk through that door, and what we
do with our  lives after we do, is up to us. Someone once observed that the
great drama of Christianity is not a crowd shot, following the  movements
of collectives or even nations. The drama is always  personal, individual,
unfolding in one's own life.  We're  not alone in sensing this. Men and women
of every faith, and  good people with none at all, sincerely strive to do
right and  lead a purpose-driven life."

This was a well  delivered speech filled with excellent content which the
Romney  campaign should use more frequently in the campaign ahead. The
signal was sent to many who, like me, who are deeply concerned  that the moral
issues not be separated from the economic issues.  It appears that the
presumptive Republican candidate has  listened.


Governor  Romney did not attempt to argue the compatibility of his own
religious faith and that of most of the graduates. I was  relieved. He told the
graduates and their guests, "People of  different faiths, like yours and
mine, sometimes wonder where we  can meet in common purpose, when there are so
many differences  in creed and theology.  Surely the answer is that we can
meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation  stemming
from a common worldview.  The best case for this  is always the example of
Christian men and women working and  witnessing to carry God's love into every
life - people like the  late Chuck Colson."

"Not long ago, Chuck recounted  a story from his days just after leaving
prison.  He was  assured by people of influence that, even with a prison
record,  a man with his connections and experience could still live very
comfortably.  They would make some calls, get Chuck  situated, and set him up once
again as an important man.   His choice at that crossroads would make him,
instead, a great  man."

I will attend Chuck's memorial service this  week. He had a great influence
on my own life when I was a  younger man. I was moved that the Governor
included him in the  commencement address. Chuck deserved the honor and,
frankly, I  think he would have approved. What I discovered in this speech  and
the venue was the importance of our exercise of faithful  citizenship at this
critical moment in our history as a free  people - a Nation conceived in
liberty.

The  Governor concluded with these remarks: "The call to service is  one of
the fundamental elements of our national character.   It has motivated
every great movement of conscience that this  hopeful, fair-minded country of
ours has ever seen.   Sometimes, as Dr. Viktor Frankl observed in a book for
the ages,  it is not a matter of what we are asking of life, but rather  what
life is asking of us.  How often the answer to our own  troubles is to help
others with theirs.

"In all of  these things - faith, family, work, and service -the choices we
make as Americans are, in other places, not choices at  all.  For so many
on this earth, life is filled with  orders, not options, right down to where
they live, the work  they do, and how many children the state will permit
them to  have.  All the more reason to be grateful, this and every  day, that
we live in America , where  the talents God gave us may be used in
freedom."

The  Romney candidacy raises a certain irony. Here we had a Mormon
candidate who went to Liberty  University and addressed a crowd which has  major
disagreement with his religious faith. However, it was  this candidate who
affirmed the fundamental moral values which  inform the foundations of the
American experiment in ordered  liberty. He did so in a way which even made this
Catholic Editor  look twice at his candidacy.


I  contend that I have more in common theologically with  Liberty's
Baptists as a Catholic Christian -  though I am sure some present in  Lynchburg on
Saturday would  disagree. However, Mitt Romney hit a home run in  Lynchburg
, Virginia  on Saturday. That commencement address was not only a great
speech, it also inspired me at an important moment.

Article  VI, Paragraph 3 of the US Constitution includes these words,  "The
Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the  Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and  judicial Officers, both of
the United States and of the several  States, shall be bound by Oath or
Affirmation, to support this  Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be
required as a  qualification to any office or public trust under the United
States."

This Mormon candidate who spoke at that  Baptist Liberty  University is
looking better and better to  this Catholic citizen as the fall Presidential
race approaches.  The future of the American experiment in ordered liberty is
at  risk. We do indeed share common values which are essential for  our
future as a free people. Mitt Romney is correct, "we can  meet in service, in
shared moral convictions about our nation  stemming from a common worldview."



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