On September 24th, 2025, I, as a believing Catholic serving as an instructor at a Jesuit high school, was incredibly heartened to see the opinion piece “Yes, Your Politics Define Your Morality” by Israel Ramirez ‘26 in the Loyalist.

If politics can be defined as the process of making decisions for groups, often involving power, competition and allocation of scarce resources, as seen in government and even other organizations, then morality is necessarily connected to politics as Ramirez proclaims – no? How can one possibly make such decisions that are then inevitably linked to subsequent political actions without personally chosen moral values, which are deeply held ethical principles about what is right and wrong, and which guide our decision-making and consequent associated behavior?

So kudos then to Opinion Editor Israel Ramirez for prophetically identifying and proclaiming this important connection to our school community. Job well done! My only contention with Ramirez’s compelling essay was the nature of the causal link between politics and morality – should politics define your morality, or instead should morality determine your politics? Speaking for myself as a Catholic believer now steeped in the Ignatian charism, no surprise given my role as a theology teacher at a Jesuit high school, I have learned to first start with the “morality” of Catholic social teaching, whose foundation is in the words and actions of Jesus Christ, out of which then emerges my political decisions and actions.

Such a way of proceeding parallels a Jesuit core principle called a “faith that does justice,” stating that faith is not just a personal belief but a call to action that promotes justice, especially for the poor and the marginalized. This concept finds affirmation in the Bible, James 2:26, which asserts, “faith without works is dead.” The nature of Catholic social teaching also means that for a believer following these guidelines, he or she will not always find themselves fitting nicely into either of our country’s two political systems. Catholic social teachings, in a sense, rise above the present political platforms and divisions of right and left, Republican and Democrat.

For example, Catholic social teachings found in the classical liberal position, simplifying a bit for the purpose of this written letter, are a deep concern for the poor, concern for social justice, concern for migrants seeking refuge from persecution, and opposition to capital punishment. Things classically on the right, finding some corroboration in Catholic social teachings, are religious liberty, conscience protection, opposition to abortion, opposition to euthanasia, defense of the family structure, and promotion of sound human sexuality principles. Some of these pressing social issues are not minor ones, but involve large numbers, with staggering moral implications for our body politic. Present estimates for undocumented immigrants in the United States vary between 10 and 20 million persons, while the number of abortions performed in the United States since the Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision runs over 60 million persons.

If we are going to eventually successfully address these and other important moral issues, I strongly believe we will need a set of objective ethical principles, such as Catholic social teachings; otherwise, the only standard to reference in making our political decisions and actions will simply be our own human experience and feelings. These experiences and feelings are incredibly important in the journey of life, but if they become the sole arbiter of our ethical positions and choices, we will not as a nation have a set of shared values from which to seriously converse about the great political issues.

Human experiences and feelings are so unique to me, but if they become my ultimate criterion for truth and value, how will I talk to you? You, too, will have an equally valid criterion of truth and value as perceived through your experiences and feelings. A possible dangerous consequence of such an ethical impasse is that political conversation turns into simply a clashing of personal wills, shutting down genuine dialogue, where at the least all I can do is shout, and at the limit God forbid, engage in violence. One only needs to sadly look around at our society to see that this is, in fact, what is tragically happening in many areas of our nation.

I therefore pray that our nation can turn to and embrace a set of objective moral norms such as Catholic social teachings, from which we can engage in productive conversations and, yes, even healthy debate, provided it is done in love as Christ commands us, seeing each person with whom we interact as being made in the image of God. Thanks to The Loyalist both for the stimulating article written by Israel Ramirez and the opportunity they gave me to respond to it.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE: The Loyalist welcomes letters to the editor as an opportunity for diverse viewpoints within our community. If you are interested, please click HERE.