Nationalist Politics and Catholic Faith + Morality

[Ederico]

Avete!

I would like to inquire about a topic that interests me in particular as a person, a topic which I need to research. Malta is overwhelmingly Catholic. My inquisition (pun intended) relates to combining a Nationalist Political Idealogy with the Catholic Faith and its Morality.

How would a Catholic Nationalist view Immigration and Immigrants, in particular if non-European, and most importantly non-Christian?

And what takes precedence: Faith and/or the Roman Catholic Church and its Institutions or the Nation?

In other words, if possible, how can Catholicism and Nationalism be combined? I refer especially to an ideoligical relationship and integration of the two concepts which is coherent and practical.

I am mostly interested in what is termed Traditional Catholicism.

Valete!
Ederico Figallo.

[Turbamulta]

In other words, if possible, how can Catholicism and Nationalism be combined? I refer especially to an ideoligical relationship and integration of the two concepts which is coherent and practical.

I saw once a manual for soldiers, which was something similar to a FAQ. One of the questions was:

Question: Why must I defend my Patria?
Answer: This is a insulting question. You would ask yourself because you must defend your mother?

I think this comparison is correct. St. Thomas Aquinas taught us that the patriotism* is an obligation deduced from the Fourth Commandment.

* In this context, i think we can say that patriotism and the modern concept of nationalism are synonymous.


Man becomes a debtor to other men in various ways, according to their various excellence and the various benefits received from them. on both counts God holds first place, for He is supremely excellent, and is for us the first principle of being and government. In the second place, the principles of our being and government are our parents and our country, that have given us birth and nourishment. Consequently man is debtor chiefly to his parents and his country, after God. Wherefore just as it belongs to religion to give worship to God, so does it belong to piety, in the second place, to give worship to one's parents and one's country.

Summa Theologica. St. Thomas Aquina.

How would a Catholic Nationalist view Immigration and Immigrants, in particular if non-European, and most importantly non-Christian?

I'm Catholic. But I'm not only Catholic. I have a cultural identity. Catholics aren't aliens from other planet, aseptics to the cultural issues. To be Catholic is to assume all the religious Doctrine of Catholicism, but a Catholic preserve his cultural legacy. The massive immigration has the same problems for Catholics nationalists and for non-Catholic nationalists. The arguments are the same. In Spain, a lot of immigrants come from South America, they are mostly Catholics, they speak Spanish. This facts reduce a bit the impact... but the differences are obvious: the aren't the same than us. Their integration is better than the moors, but they are unassumable in enormous quantities. European immigrants, for example polish immigrants, hasn't any problems in Spain, and Spaniards hasn't problems with them. In my city are thousands of Poles, and their work is positive, their integration is total. The strength of the reality is imposed.
Catholicism is a religion that unites men over the world, but this men has a cultural identity too. A Catholic must not forget this.

And what takes precedence: Faith and/or the Roman Catholic Church and its Institutions or the Nation?

God first. If to serve my nation has a contradiction with my Faith, i will stop to serve it. My only complete obligation is with God. In the problems between the Church and the State, I usually sympathise with the Church.

[Perun]

Concerning the original question of Catholicism + nationalism, theres no conflict at all with that. Pius X once said that if Catholicism ever became the enemy of ones nation, it would cease to be a divine religion. National identities are divine creations of God, so loyalty to your folk is part of loyalty to God. This is one teaching of the Church that has not really changed, even the post-Vatican II documents talk about the glory and virtue of loyalty to your nation, but it does warn against "idoltry of the nation" that is putting your nation above God. Now the common question comes "what if Catholicism conflicts with nationalism?" The answer really is that it doesnt and never will. Its really a matter of what you consider nationalism.


For example, many American Catholics tried claiming that their Catholicism conflicted with their patriotism because the Pope wouldnt support Bush's war in Iraq, but thats assuming supporting Bush's war is automatically patriotic. Yet supporting Bush's unjust war against a weaker country that did not threathen America is not really patriotic. Just like GK Chesterton opposed Britain's war against the Boers on the grounds of both being a British patriot and a supporter of the Boer's right to their own nationhood.

If you want I can explain this further....including some good articles on this question.

Concerning the theology of national identities heres something of interest:

“Regino of Prum writing in his Chronicon about the year 900, set out what may be called the normative Christian view of human society as follows:

‘Just as different peoples(diversae nations populorum) differ between themselves in descent, manners, language and laws(genere, moribus, lingua, legibus) so the holy and universal church throughout the world, although joined in the unity of the faith nevertheless varies its ecclesiastical customs among them.’

Here the unity and universality of the church is not in question; it inevitably limits the degree of specifically religious diversity acceptable between nations but it takes the existence and differences of the latter for granted and does not rule out a diversity of ecclesiastical custom reflecting national differences.


Within the unity of Christian faith, the full diversity of nations, customs and languages comes simply to be taken for granted. No one reading the New Testament as a primary guide to the way the world is could have much doubt of that.”

--Adrian Hastings The Construction of Nationhood pg.195

[Ederico]

Originally Posted by Perun

If you want I can explain this further....including some good articles on this question.

Excuse the very late reply Perun, this must have been one of the threads/posts, which I read but to which I could not reply soon after reading. As unfortunately happens, I tend to forget to reply.

I am very interested in any articles you could provide on the question. Please go ahead and post them, or link me. Grazzi.