New Framework for All Citizens to Heal a Fractured America : A 250-Year Wake-Up Call for the USA by Archbishop Lori

In his new pastoral letter, "In Charity and Truth: Toward a Renewed Political Culture," Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore calls on Catholics and all people of goodwill to reform the way they engage in civic life.

Timed to coincide with the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, the letter argues that the current "toxic" and "vitriolic" political climate is a symptom of a deeper spiritual crisis—specifically, a wounded understanding of human dignity.

Introduction – A Moment of Grace and Responsibility

As our nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we find ourselves invited into a moment of profound reflection and renewal. Anniversaries are not merely occasions for nostalgia or celebration. Authentic remembrance always orients us toward renewal; it calls us to consider not only who we have been, and who we are becoming–but, by God’s grace, who we are called to be.

This anniversary can be a moment of grace if embraced also as a moment of responsibility. For while we rightly take pride in the achievements of our nation and the vibrancy of our Catholic faith, we cannot ignore the fractures, wounds, and crises that mark both our national life and, sadly, even at times our ecclesial life. The task before us is not to romanticize the past but to offer a hopeful and credible witness today.

1. The Cultural Atmosphere We Breathe

Like the Church herself, we operate in a cultural atmosphere that is something like the air we breathe. Rarely is it entirely fresh and bracing. All too often it is polluted, even toxic. Such is the political atmosphere in which we find ourselves today. Political discourse has become more vitriolic than usual. Political violence and threats of such violence have erupted. There is deep polarization. Extreme ideologies of both the left and the right are being asserted–ideologies that reveal not only political division, but also cultural and even religious polarization.

2. A Moment for Renewal, Not Nostalgia

Anniversaries can easily tempt us into selective memory–remembering what was noble while forgetting what was painful or flawed. But the Church reminds us that authentic celebration emerges not from denial but from the courage to face both our strengths and our failures.

Our nation has been, from its founding, a land of possibility. Yet, it has also been a land of profound contradictions. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all are created equal, endowed with certain unalienable rights. And yet, as we know, many were excluded from those very rights for generations.

3. Synodality – Listening, Discerning, and Walking Together

One of the graces the Holy Spirit offers the Church in our times is the call to synodality. While this term emerges from ecclesial life, its spirit offers wisdom for our civic life as well. Synodality is, at its heart, a commitment to listening with humility, speaking with honesty, and discerning with the Holy Spirit–all while walking together, not apart.

This call to synodality has particular significance for the bishops of the United States, who are entrusted with teaching, sanctifying, and governing in communion with one another, with the Successor of Peter and the People of God. Unity among bishops in not incidental; it is itself a pastoral and evangelical witness. When bishops remain united–despite differences of emphasis, temperament, or prudential judgment–they model for the faithful and for the nation what communion amid diversity can look like.

What might synodality in politics look like?

• A renewed willingness to listen, especially to those with whom
  we disagree.
• A refusal to demonize, recognizing the dignity of every person.
• A commitment to discernment, refusing the seduction of easy
  answers of ideological rigidity.
• A shared journey, resisting the fragmentation that leaves so
  many behind.

4. A New Kind of Politics Rooted in the Truth of the Human Person

Our world is in desperate need of a new kind of politics–one that begins not with power, but with the truth of the human person revealed in Jesus Christ. Christ, in His Incarnation, affirms the goodness of the human body and the meaning of human history. In His Passion, He reveals the cost of love and the depth of human suffering. In His Resurrection, He discloses humanity’s destiny: not annihilation or domination, but eternal life in communion with God.

This new kind of politics calls us to:

• Resist the idolatry of ideology.
• Honor the inherent dignity of every human life from conception
  to natural death.
• Protect the vulnerable and the marginalized.
• Engage in dialogue rather than accusation.
• Place the common good above partisan loyalty.

This does not mean we will always agree. It means that disagreement becomes a place of encounter, not enmity.

5. Unity – A First Principle in Christian Citizenship

Among the first words of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate was a call for unity–unity in the Church, and unity among the peoples of the earth. Unity is not a strategy; it is grounded in Christ, who prayed that His disciples might be one. Unity is not uniformity. It is harmony in diversity. It is the recognition that we belong to one another, even when we see the world differently.

The Catholic experience in the United States has always included both gratitude and tension–gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, and tension when those freedoms are used in ways that wound human dignity. This history also calls us to a necessary vigilance, ensuring that our fundamental freedoms, especially our religious liberty, are never curtailed or compromised. Yet our history also shows that these tensions can be navigated with integrity. Catholics do not need to abandon their faith to participate in public life, nor do they need to abandon public life to remain faithful. Instead, our faith offers the compass we need to walk this path with clarity and hope.

6. Charity, Unity, and Patriotism – The Witness of Blessed Michael McGivney

At this pivotal moment in our nation’s life, we are blessed with a distinctly American witness in Blessed Michael McGivney, whose life embodies the virtues our time so desperately needs.

As a parish priest serving immigrant families, Blessed McGivney recognized the concrete wounds of his people – economic insecurity, social exclusion, and cultural suspicion. His response was not ideological, but incarnational. He founded the Knights of Columbus which fosters charity, unity, fraternity, and a patriotic love that seeks the good of the nation without sacrificing fidelity to Christ.

7. Reclaiming a Culture of Encounter 

The polarization of our time has led to a culture of avoidance. We retreat into enclaves, whether political, digital, or ideological. Sadly, this is seen even within our families. But the Gospel calls us to a culture of encounter–to go out to meet the other, to listen, to learn, and to love. To encounter another is to recognize in them a mystery that only God fully comprehends. It is to acknowledge that every human life is ordered toward communion and eternal life, not toward exclusion or erasure.

To build a better political culture, we must learn once more how to encounter. This involves:

• Stepping outside our ideological comfort zones.
• Seeking out conversations with those on the margins or those with differing points of view.
• Healing the wounds that divide us.
• Committing ourselves to forgiveness.

8. The Role of Virtue in Public Life

A healthy republic does not rest solely on the strength of its institutions, its courts, or its electoral systems. It rests, above all, on the character of its people. The Founding Fathers themselves understood this well. John Adams famously wrote that the Constitution was made “… only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”4 Though he wrote from a Protestant worldview, his insight resonates deeply with the Catholic tradition, which has long taught that political life–not unlike personal life–requires virtue. Law guides and establishes structure, but virtue is what animates.

The classical and Christian traditions identify four cardinal virtues–prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance–which form the moral framework needed for healthy political engagement. These virtues do not belong only to one party or ideology. They are the shared moral grammar that enables people of goodwill to work together for the common good.

9. Prudence – Seeing Clearly and Choosing Wisely

Prudence is often misunderstood as hesitation or caution. In reality, prudence is the virtue of clear-eyed discernment. It enables us to perceive reality truthfully, to judge rightly what should be done, and to act in a way that advances genuine good.

In public life, prudence means evaluating policies not by slogans or emotional appeal but by their actual impact on human dignity. It calls voters, leaders, and citizens to ask: What truly serves the most vulnerable? What best promotes justice? What protects the family? What advances peace? Prudence also guards against the absolutizing of partial truths, which can make ideologies seem more compelling than the demands of the Gospel. Prudence helps us to see clearly, to judge wisely, and to act firmly.

10. Justice – Respecting Rights and Responsibilities

Justice is foundational to political life. It is the virtue that moves us to honor the dignity of every human person and to recognize that each person has rights that must be protected and responsibilities that must be fulfilled.

A just society safeguards life at every stage–the unborn, the elderly, the sick, the disabled, and the vulnerable–to offer just a few examples. It ensures that basic needs are met, that work is treated with dignity, that the marginalized are brought to the center, and that the law is applied fairly. Justice also demands recognition of the ways historical sins–such as racism, exploitation, and exclusion–continue to wound communities.

11. Fortitude – Courage to Pursue the Good

Fortitude strengthens us to pursue what is right despite fear, intimidation, or difficulty. In our polarized age, fortitude is indispensable. It empowers each of us to resist the pressure to conform to divisive rhetoric, to endure criticism when standing for truth, and to advocate for the vulnerable even when it is politically inconvenient.

12. Temperance – Ordering Our Passions for Peace

Temperance moderates our impulses and helps us resist the allure of excess. In political culture, temperance is perhaps the virtue most needed today. Our public discourse often thrives on outrage, immediacy, and emotional escalation. Temperance invites us to slow down, to choose words carefully, to avoid rash judgments and to discipline the desire to “win” at the expense of relationship, truth or the common good.

Temperance also applies to how we consume information. It encourages us to avoid media ecosystems that inflame anger, distort reality, and foster cynicism. It calls us to seek sources that inform rather than manipulate, that elevate rather than degrade. Temperance helps us to curb lesser immediate goods (real or perceived) to seek after higher, lasting goods.

13. The Interdependence of Virtues

These cardinal virtues do not stand alone. They support and balance one another. Prudence without justice becomes manipulation. Justice without temperance becomes harshness. Fortitude without prudence becomes recklessness. Temperance without fortitude becomes avoidance.

The saints remind us that virtue is a habit formed over time. Virtue grows through repetition, through the daily choosing of the good over the easy, the true over the convenient. This applies not only to individuals but to societies. A nation grows in virtue when its people consistently practice it.

14. Virtue as the Foundation of Civic Friendship

Virtue makes possible civic friendship–a way of living and relating that seeks the good of one’s neighbor and of society. Civic friendship is not sentimental. It is a strong, stable commitment to the truth that we belong to one another, that our destinies are intertwined, and that the flourishing of one depends in part on the flourishing of all. It is a deep, genuine desire to seek the good of others and of society. This is the antidote to polarization.

Civic friendship challenges us to:

• See political opponents as brothers and sisters.
• Build bridges where there are walls.
• Foster trust in a time of suspicion.
• Cultivate hope amid fear.

A society marked by civic friendship is better able to weather political disagreements, because citizens do not see opponents as enemies but as fellow children of God. Virtue forms the soil in which trust can grow, and trust is essential for any democracy to flourish.

15. The Responsibility of Catholics in Forming Virtuous Public Life

Catholics, drawing from the richness of our intellectual and spiritual tradition, have a unique role to play in renewing public life through virtue. We can model prudence in how we discern public issues, justice in how we advocate for the vulnerable, fortitude in standing for human dignity, and temperance in our tone and conduct.

By practicing virtue–individually and collectively–we contribute to the healing of our nation. We become instruments of peace and bridges across division. We demonstrate that political life, when rooted in virtue, can indeed become a path to holiness and a form of loving service. But to do this we have to be firmly rooted in Christ, rather than in the world.

16. The Gift & Responsibility of Catholic Citizenship 

Catholics in the United States inherit a rich legacy. The American experiment in liberty was shaped, in part, by Catholic minds and Catholics hearts–from the Catholics who arrived in 1634 at St. Clement’s

Today, we are called to carry forward this legacy. Catholic citizenship is not about aligning the Church with one party or another. It is about witnessing to the Gospel in the public square.

A mature Catholic political presence will:

• Defend human life in all its stages.
• Advocate for the poor and the vulnerable.
• Insist on racial and social justice.
• Promote peace and reject violence.
• Uphold religious freedom for all.

This vision transcends party lines. It is neither conservative nor progressive. It is Catholic.

17. Catholic Participation in Civic Life – The Witness of St. Mother Cabrini

Among the many heroes who shaped this legacy, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini stands as a luminous witness. Arriving in the United States as an immigrant herself, she encountered a nation that did not always welcome her people. Yet she met these challenges with a courageous heart and a faith that refused to be discouraged. Mother Cabrini built schools, hospitals, and orphanages not because the path was easy, but because she believed that every human person–especially the poor, the sick, and the stranger–deserved to experience the tenderness of Christ. Her life reminds us that immigrants have never been merely recipients of charity; they have been builders, healers, and saints who have renewed both the Church and the country through their sacrifice and love. In Mother Cabrini, we see what Catholic participation in civic life looks like at its best: a life rooted in prayer, poured out in service, and committed to the flourishing of the nation without ever compromising fidelity to the Gospel.

18. The Spiritual Crisis Beneath the Political Crisis

The political crisis of our time is, at its root, a spiritual crisis. While the symptoms appear in our discourse, our institutions, and our communities, the deeper fracture lies within the human heart. We live in an age marked by distraction, cynicism, fear, and a sense of isolation that corrodes our capacity for communion. Many no longer share a common moral vocabulary; many struggle to articulate the meaning and purpose of their lives. These wounds inevitably manifest themselves in the public square.

To renew our politics, we must therefore renew our souls. This begins with prayer–opening our hearts to the God who heals and reorders our desires. It continues in the sacraments, where grace strengthens us to love as God loves. It takes shape in works of charity and justice, where faith becomes incarnate. And it is sustained in communities of faith where trust, forgiveness, and authentic belonging are learned and lived.

Political reform without spiritual renewal is a city built on sand. But a people formed by the Gospel can transform even troubled times with hope. When hearts are healed, politics becomes less a battleground and more a field for the pursuit of the common good. When citizens are anchored in the love of God, they are less vulnerable to fear, manipulation, and division. When communities rediscover their spiritual identity, they rediscover their capacity for civic friendship.

Only when the City of God is alive within us can we contribute fruitfully to the earthly city. Only when we ground ourselves in prayer, virtue, and the love of Christ can we begin to heal the wounds of our nation.

19. A Path Forward – Practical Commitments for a Renewed Political Culture

In this 250th anniversary year, I invite all Catholics–and all people of goodwill–to commit themselves to the following practices:

1. Renew Your Prayer for the Nation–Pray for those in authority.
   Pray for those with whom you disagree. Pray for peace.
2. Practice Civil Dialogue–Listen before speaking. Seek to
   understand before responding. Assume good will.
3. Reject Hatred and Violence–Refuse to participate in rhetoric or
   actions that dehumanize.
4. Serve the Common Good–Volunteer. Build community. Support
   families. Work for justice.
5. Form Your Conscience–Study Catholic social teaching. Discern
   your media intake. Develop your capacity for moral clarity.
6. Encounter Those Who Differ from You–Build friendships that
   challenge your assumptions.
7. Foster Hope–Speak of possibilities, not just problems. Remind
   others that God is at work. Witness to a different way to live.

Conclusion – Becoming Instruments of Renewal

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we stand at a crossroads–one marked by profound challenges but also by new opportunities for renewal. The celebration of our nation’s birth is not merely a civic milestone; it is a spiritual invitation. It calls on us to reflect on the gift of our country, the sacrifices of those who came before us, and the responsibility entrusted to us for the generations yet to come.

This letter began by acknowledging the fragility of our present moment–the toxicity of our political atmosphere, the deep wounds of division, and the loneliness that has settled upon many hearts. But it also affirms the truth that moments of crisis can become moments of renewal. The Church has always proclaimed that grace moves most powerfully not in times of ease but in times of difficulty. And so, we trust that God is at work even now, beckoning us toward a better way.

In the midst of political upheaval, the Church does not withdraw from public life, nor does she align herself with any partisan identity. She remains what she has always been: a sacrament of unity, a beacon of hope, and a teacher of truth. Her mission is not to win elections, but to form saints. Not to secure power, but to proclaim the Gospel. Not to mirror the divisions of society, but to heal them.

Our nation needs Catholics who embody this mission–women and men whose lives witness to the dignity of every human person, whose love bridges divides, whose courage resists hatred and whose faith insists that despair does not have the final word. The civic landscape may look dark at times, but the Church has lived through darker times and emerged stronger, purified, and more faithful. So, too, can our nation.

20. A Call to Hope and Commitment

The saints and countless others throughout time did not wait until circumstances were perfect before offering their lives. They responded to God’s call amid turmoil, uncertainty, and division. They remind us that hope is not optimism; it is fidelity. Hope is the quiet, steady conviction that God is at work even when we cannot see the path ahead.

As disciples of Christ and citizens of this great nation, we are called to that same hope. We are called to participate in the renewal of our political culture not out of fear, but out of love–love for God, love for neighbor, and love for the country that has been entrusted to us. We are called to be saints for our time.

So, dear brothers and sisters, let us walk forward as a synodal people–listening, discerning, and journeying together. Let us speak with charity and disagree with respect. Let us reject violence in all its forms, cultivate the habits of virtue, and anchor our lives in prayer.

May the next 250 years of our nation be marked by greater justice, deeper solidarity, renewed trust, and a profound respect for the dignity of every human person. May the Church–in the Premier See of Baltimore and throughout the United States–be a leaven of unity and a witness of hope in a world thirsting for both. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.

FULL Letter - https://www.archbalt.org/in-charity-truth-toward-a-renewed-political-culture/