Kerrigan Address To The Catholic High School And College Students At The Reston Study Center … May 21ST

This afternoon, you will be briefed about the virtues needed to be an ethical leader, the temptations and struggles of several of the characters in Politics with Principle and several lessons I learned from them.My character-building quest took to most of the 50 states and halls of congress… ten characters with character were identified as ethical leaders. Two of the four Catholic characters will be profiled today and some lessons learned from all ten will be shared with you.

The mission of the Character Building Project is to share the virtues of ethical leaders with the young because character is mostly formed while we are young… it is important to be prudent with the peers you choose and the associations you keep.

Politics with Principle analyzed ten ethical leaders. I studied their conflicts and found…

 

Bill Bugler’s patience and perseverance dealing with the press

Tom Lynch’s fortitude when dealing with students cheating while Tom was Superintendent of the         naval academy

Dick Carlson’s growth from an orphan to head Voice of America due to Dick’s resilience and self-reliance

Anne Bingaman’s courage to dream big from small town of Jerome, Arizona to head the antitrust division of Department of Justice

 

All were academically trained but all also cultivated virtues needed to succeed in crises.  Why do you need to know of their conflicts?  You can learn from their struggles and their temptations. They are not unlike yours and all have the common goal of self-improvement and service to others.

Life on earth is warfare, we are soldiers of Christ and our business is to fight the good fight. Our souls becomes a battle ground… emotions pulling in one direction our will in another… the struggle goes on for the devil goes about “like a raging lion seeking whom he may devour us.”

Whether politicians or students, the ancient enemy tempts us through the vices of illicit pleasure, vainglory and greed.

Politics with Principle focus is on ethics, Virtue rather than vice. My aim is to teach you what did and does work in politics and in life for either virtue or vice will shape our politics. Virtue will be fashionable in a society that practices civility but magnanimity is needed to trump today’s tribal politics.

Imagine virtue as the norm! Imagine a vision as old as ancient Athens… recall Diogenes’ searching for an honest man. The requirements then were clear… ethos, logos and pathos; these three are needed to be an ethical leader.

Ethos is good character cultivated over a lifetime… so I questioned all ten characters about their family life, religious beliefs and values…

 

Tom Bliley… mentor was his uncle, the Abbot of Belmont Abbey

Bill Bulger… studied Demosthenes

Charlie Black saw his first duty, as a Christian is to follow Christ

Paul Eckstein & Ben Cardin were influence by their daily reading of the Torah

 

We acquire virtue by aiming for the “Aristotelian mean” which is the Middle between two extremes, one of excess other deficiency. Moral courage if in excess would be recklessness, while moral courage if deficient would be cowardice.

Ethos requires cultivating courtesy and civility, the ability to disagree agreeably. Our having courtesy, especially to differing opinions is a good start in building character.

Ethical leaders distinguish between Ethos of speaker from his or her Logos.

Ethical leaders must master logos, the logical presentation of your thinking to the public. Ethical leaders first formulate their thinking then have the moral courage to act on it. Because an ethical leader has virtue he or she is entitled to have his or her reasoning respected by opponents.

Bill Bulger is an example of ethical leadership in practice.

 

U-Mass chancellor never defeated; honor his code

The media elites savaged bill due to an accident of biology (his brother, a criminal.)

Unscrupulous press did not intimidate Bill

Bulger perfected logos from Greeks and pathos from James Michael  Curley

Bulger always kept his career on a high moral plane.

 

Ethical leaders exhibit brave, strong and good hearts…

 

Santorum practiced legitimate pathos.

Alexander Hamilton stated at the Constitutional convention… there  maybe a few choice spirits who act from worthy motives

Rick Santorum is a “choice spirit” who acts from worthy motives

Both Bulger & Santorum are dedicated & talented politicians in whose  spirit there is no guile…

Such ethical leaders are essential to the Republic.

One day… if you run for public office

Bring your virtues and values with you

Keep them intact while working in the political arena

Successful campaigns stem from within, from your own principles… those that shaped you

Great campaigns are about character and universal human experiences

Ones’ duty

Living according to an honor code

How you respond to adversity

Self vs. selfless

Hubris vs. humility

Strengthening one’s character in a crisis

Dependence vs. independence

 

I believe God is calling me to try to cultivate character in the next generation of political leaders. Maybe there are even some here tonight who will accept the challenge to go back to the secular world and help in the work of bringing God to the world and the world to God.  I salute Opus Dei’s long history in defending the Magisterium of the church while working in the world. Join me in bringing our Roman Catholic values to the public square.

So I close with the counsel from the son of Sirach… “When thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, prepare thy soul for temptation.” and remember the guiding principle of Admiral Lynch… “Pray as hard as you can, work as hard as you can and leave the rest up to God.”