Divine Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Welcome to Divine Election, a podcast from the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, exploring what it might mean to approach elections from a Christian perspective. I am Cherise McClean. I direct Communications for the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. And as the Republic of Ireland goes to the polls in a General Election on November 29, we thought it was a good time to think theologically about the opportunities and obligations that fall to us as Christians in a democracy. While these issues are especially timely for Irish people, we hope that this series will be of general interest even after the election is completed and a new government is formed and that while it has Ireland as its context, it will be relevant for Christians anywhere.
Over the course of the series we pair big theological ideas with questions of applied public policy. We speak to experts in their fields to inform our reflection on a Christian approach to political life. And we argue that regardless of your particular political persuasion, there are common - and exciting! - commitments that Christians across the spectrum share around what it means to seek the common good. The Christian faith is about love and justice is what love looks like in public. So join us as we invite you to think deeper about these issues
Divine Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Dr Toni Pyke - Belonging | Divine Election: A Christian Guide to Irish Politics
Welcome to Episode 5 of Divine Election
For a long while, Irish people could flatter themselves in imagining that unlike the rest of Europe, we didn't have a problem with immigration. As a Canadian who moved here to study and ended up staying, I can say that I have been warmly received. But I have also seen racist outbursts directed towards others who come from places that seem more remote.
That perception has been shattered in recent years as anti-immigrant rhetoric has become ever present on social media, arson attacks against facilities for recent arrivals have occurred - with apparent impunity - across the country, and riots have even broken out over a perception that "Ireland is full".
Ireland is not full. This is patent nonsense. And I can say this with some certainty from my own life - immigrants often arrive here and love the positive elements of Irish society, embed themselves in their communities, and add to the life of the nation - economically, culturally, socially, in every possible way.
Today we talk to Dr Toni Pyke, who is the Justice, Peace and Ecology Coordinator for AMRI.
She helps us to explore the idea of belonging - how it is we can cultivate a culture where that process of embedding, integration, and flourishing that I have experienced in my own life becomes the norm.
Instead of fear, Christians are called to see hope on this question. Instead of seeing the new arrival as a threat, the bible - and most forcefully, Jesus - is clear that we are meant to see our neighbour.
At base, Christians have a unique view on these questions. In Catholic Social Teaching, this is called "the universal destination of goods".
This is a technical label to describe what we find plainly stated in the Psalms: The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
When we take that theological commitment seriously, we see how absurd it is to imagine that what kind of passport you carry (or, indeed, don't carry) defines whether I am bound to help you. As Psalm 24 continues - "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
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