“Render unto Caesar…”: To Vote or Not to Vote

No Catholic is permitted to surrender the duty of his citizenship to a sullen despair, exaggerated analyses of decline, idiosyncratic critiques of democracy, or a cynical secession from his duties.

Published in Crisis Magazine on October 30, 2024

“Render unto Caesar…” may cause some alarm. God Incarnate seems to be lauding Caesar, yet Caesar hardly seems laudable.

The Caesars were a rather disreputable bunch, given their depraved lives. Let us recall that after the worthy life of Augustus, there were Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. Hardly Catholic role models.

All the Roman emperors, whether of the Julio-Claudian line, the Flavian, or the Antonine, were devout votaries of pagan gods, whose tribute they exacted from the early Christians. Refusal resulted in over two hundred years of sadistic persecution.

Let us not forget the conduct of Caesar’s armies in the conquest of nations. Not only was it barbaric, but to their vanquished enemies they meted pitiless punishment. So staggering was their legendary, totalizing cruelty that it caused Tacitus to write in his A.D. 98 De Vita et Moribus Lulii Agricolae, “they create a desert, and call it peace.”

How could the Savior recommend homage to Caesar?

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