Q&A: Do Not Show Them Favor and Praising the Catholic Church
Do Not Show Them Favor and Praising the Catholic Church
Question
With God's help,
To the Rabbi,
Recently, because of the events in the U.S., I got drawn into a discussion about abortion in which opposition to abortion was presented as a "Christian position." After I clarified my opposition to abortion as a believing Jew (and expressed my displeasure with the religious framing of the issue, as though secular people were exempt from expressing an opinion, or as though enthusiastic support were their only option), I said that the Catholic Church has indeed contributed greatly to the struggle against abortion, which perhaps would not even have taken place without its involvement, and that I personally feel gratitude toward it for its efforts (even though there are apparently some differences between our positions), and I do not refrain from praising those who oppose the "liberal dogma" on this issue, whatever their religious affiliation may be.
Is there a problem with what I said because of the prohibition of "do not show them favor"? And another question: should any distinction be made between compliments directed at a specific person ("Aristotle is such-and-such") and compliments directed at a more abstract entity (the Church, the government, parliament, etc.)?
Thank you very much for your time.
Answer
There is no problem at all. When another religion has values that are correct from your perspective, there is no impediment to saying so. On the contrary, it is appropriate to do so. That is how Meiri conducted himself when he spoke about nations restrained by civilized norms, and that is how Maimonides conducted himself when he wrote that Islam and Christianity advanced monotheism and morality.
Quite apart from that, as a matter of reasoning there is certainly room to distinguish between praising a person and praising the Church itself.