A
Vietnamese-born lawyer, the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to
Congress, and a former Jesuit seminarian, Anh "Joseph" Cao is the current U.S.
Representative from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district and was the lone
Republican to vote for landmark health care reform on November
7, 2009.
Cao spoke with National Jesuit News
about the process of discernment that he uses in reaching decisions as a U.S.
congressman, how those decisions are grounded in his background in Ignatian
spirituality and why he didn’t chose the party line in voting for health care
reform.
Our Q&A with Congressman
Cao is below:
National Jesuit News: As a Jesuit scholastic, you
experienced the Spiritual Exercises, a foundational piece of Ignatian
spirituality from Jesuit founder Ignatius Loyola. Now, as a congressman, do you
find that you use the Ignatian principles of discernment as you reach your
political decisions? Has a grounding in Ignatian spirituality helped shape your
political decision making process?
Cao: I still use the Ignatian methods almost every day, from examination of conscience back to the methods of the 30 day retreat. I do that very often. Using
the whole process of discernment to see where the Sprit is moving me has been
extremely important, especially in my recent decision to support the health
care reform plan. The Jesuit emphasis on social justice, the fact that we have
to advocate for the poor, for the widow, for those who cannot help themselves,
plays a very significant part. But at the end of
the day, I believe that it’s up to, at least from my perspective, understanding
what does my conscience say, how is the Spirit moving me.
I use that almost every day in my decision making process. The issues
that we contend with in Congress affect every single person here in the United
States, so I want to make sure that my decisions are based on good principles
and good morals.
For example, right before the [health care] vote, I
actually went to Mass and I prayed. And the theme of the day was one of the
readings from Isaiah. The priest gave the homily
about be not afraid, so I really felt a personal touch during this homily, that
this homily was meant for me. I was going through a lot of turmoil, debating on
what was the right decision, knowing the fact that if I were to vote ‘yes’, I
would be the most hated Republican in the country. [laughs]. So, it was a tough
discernment process but I felt during the Mass that it was speaking directly to
me. It gave me the strength to say ‘yes, you
have to make the right decision’ and ‘be not afraid’ to do it
because ‘I will go before you’ so that is why I supported the bill knowing the
fact that I would be the only one.
National Jesuit News: As the lone Republican to vote in
support of the health care bill, you showed what many would call courage and
independence. Even getting elected in a predominately Democratic area shows
your uniqueness. What gives you the strength to follow the path that you’ve
decided for yourself?
Cao: The question, ultimately, is ‘what is God’s will for me
in my life?’ I see everything in life as a gift. I’m
not too attached to my position. I’m not too attached to being a U.S.
congressman. I see myself as being there to serve God, to do what is God’s will
in my life, and if things happen to change, the next year or two, then I’m
pretty happy and pretty satisfied. That’s how I
approach my life, one day at a time and make sure that each and every day, what
I do is according to how God’s will is for me on that day.
National Jesuit News: The health care debate could at
times be very divisive, especially around the matter of abortion. The Bishops
lobbied heavily around the legislation when it came to abortion policies in
regards to health care. What are your thoughts on how Catholics should approach
the health care issue?
Cao: We need health care reform because the reform process is intended to help
those who cannot help themselves. But also we have to make sure that some of
our core moral values are not compromised and that was the drawing line for me.
No matter what happens, strong anti-abortion language has to be included in the
bill. I stated several months back that by supporting the bill, it would
probably mean the end of my political career, but I just cannot support a bill
that would go against my moral conscience. I would not support a bill that would
support federal funding of abortion. During the negotiations, I made that
specifically clear to the House leadership that we cannot support any reform
bill that would provide federal funding for abortion.
