Last week we began reflecting with Bishop Varden of Norway on the Tower of Babel and the way in which God saved man from himself by blocking their prideful attempt to build their own utopia benefiting only a few. As he continues to reflect on these elite attempts at utopia, Bishop Varden identifies the rise of an unhealthy ‘populism’ in reaction. As he remarks, “‘Populism’ is at heart the cry of masses that have the sense of being ignored, disenfranchised, and left in the dark. Before we write ‘populism’ off as merely noxious, we must examine whether this cry is somehow justified in our time.” He identifies the many destabilizing forces (wars, political polarization, AI, joblessness, climate change) within the modern world that make ordinary folks feel uncertain, powerless, and resentful. He retorts, “That cries of protest should arise in such a context is natural, even healthy. It is not bad either that many look to their nation, their people, for stability.”

   The search for national identity, found in common origin and shared purpose, can become distorted, however, in two different ways. “A nation that seeks coherence only in its real or imagined roots, by idolising, say, the chimaera of ethnic purity, becomes narrow-minded and arrogant. It tends towards a form of ancestor worship that is idolatry.” Blood and soil are true foundations for a nation, but when belonging depends on these qualities it leaves little room for the Christian charity that is universal. On the other hand, “A nation guided only by an ideal on the basis of which it will rewrite or cancel lived history, tends towards ideology. It will flounder when what was once a fixed objective proves unrealisable or simply passes out of fashion.” America, founded on the ideals of the Revolution, requires a thick community with shared values or else these values will fade with the passing of time and all things will be destabilized. Bishop Varden counsels an approach that balances these two extremes, so that “We must build up our nations hospitably, nurturing our heritage, while remaining ready to absorb the artistic, scientific, and cultural riches brought by new members. Even Israel, the most exclusive nation in Biblical history, had to learn this lesson. It was formed for the purpose of becoming a global magnet, so that Jerusalem, the city of God, might freely welcome ‘all the nations’ (Is 2.2.).”

   Immigrants who come to our country should meet a strong national identity built on the love of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that they can join with their unique cultural heritage. They can only be welcomed hospitably if we as a nation have a national identity to offer them. We cannot give what we do not have. But “What should alarm us is the tendency to define in absolute terms ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’, a hardening of discourse that makes every stranger seem suspect.” They are facing this dilemma in Norway as they are in America, and we as Catholics have a unique role to play. We are members of a particular nation but also belong to a global family of believers. Catholics from Mexico, Canada, Nigeria, Poland, and Japan are our brothers in a deeper way than those who merely share our American identity. For “our citizenship is in Heaven”! We’ll continue to learn how we are called to respond to the equally legitimate desires for national identity and radical hospitality.

   -Fr. Stephen