For those of us who are religious, there are some aspects of our religion that make it difficult to remain true to its values. To see how difficult it is to be good, let's look at the case of Tony Abbott, the convenient Catholic.
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It suits him to be a Catholic when it comes to same-sex marriage but it doesn't suit him to be a Catholic when it comes to climate change. He's happy to be guided by the dead hand of the Bible but unwilling to follow the lead of Pope Francis, who leads his church.
What does it mean when you only pick the parts of your religion that suit you? Let's ask forever former prime minister Abbott how deep his commitment really runs.
Catholicism shaped everything about Abbott's life. First, let me put in a good word for St Ignatius' College, fondly known as Riverview. I'm happily married to an alumnus, am related to many others and have taught several young men who have a social conscience because of the school's focus on social justice.
As David Marr reminded us in his 2012 Quarterly Essay, Political Animal: the Making of Tony Abbott, Abbott's Catholicism was groomed by the highly charismatic and wordly Emmet Costello, the priest he met as a 16-year-old. It went on to flourish under the tutelage of Bob Santamaria.
Abbott was and is on a mission from God. Or is he? Let's look at his position on same-sex marriage.
He opposes it. This year, he's on a non-stop bender to stop those of the same sex from marrying in the way he married Margie or the way godless me married my equally godless husband. He's even allowed his family to be torn asunder while he campaigns. His daughter Frances is taking the side of her aunt Christine Forster, Abbott's sister and a same-sex marriage proponent. This year, he's talked about the institution of marriage and said his opposition is not about religion but about tradition.
But last year was different. He gave a speech in Queensland to honour the memory of his former headmaster Greg Jordan. In it, he talked about the threats to religion if same-sex marriage was legalised.
"Some of the institutions and the values that have most helped to shape and to define Western civilisation – Christianity, the church and the crown – now tend to be those most frequently under fire ... the traditional concept of marriage won't be maintained by a claim that the church's right to free speech is under threat – though it is. It will only be maintained by preserving or by rebuilding the old consensus that, ideally at least, marriage is an exclusive union entered into for life by one man with one woman in the expectation of children."
The church matters desperately to Abbott when it comes to same-sex marriage – but not when it comes to climate change. Last week, when Tony Abbott gave a speech called titled "daring to doubt" to the Global Warming Policy Foundation in Britain, he said: "In most countries, far more people die in cold snaps than in heatwaves, so a gradual lift in global temperatures, especially if it is accompanied by more prosperity and more capacity to adapt to change, might even be beneficial."
That is in contrast to what he said when he needed to be responsible. When he was still prime minister at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014, he said: "Australia has always believed that climate change is real, that humanity makes a contribution and that strong and effective action against it should be taken." He was clearly good at pretending then.
Just two years ago, Pope Francis urged Catholics – and everyone else – to accept the reality of climate change. He said in his encyclical: "Climate change is a global problem with grave implications ... it represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming."
The Pope doesn't believe that warming will help anyone. He says – as do scientists, godly or otherwise – that global warming will drive the poor from their homes. It will cause starvation. Yet Abbott thinks a gradual lift in global temperatures is a good idea.
It occurs to me how much Abbott puts himself at the centre of any of these debates and cares naught about the opinions and values of others. That's quite clear from the way he treats his sister, his daughter and the members of his own party. But that behaviour is not congruent with the values of an authentic Catholic. He aligns himself with the church but doesn't uphold its teachings unless those values suit him, which made perfectly clear in his "daring to doubt" speech.
A final word from Pope Francis: "Human beings, too, are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity. So we cannot fail to consider the effects on people's lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development and the throwaway culture."
The Pope is a Catholic. What does that make Abbott?
Jenna Price is an academic at the University of Technology Sydney and a Fairfax Media columnist.
Twitter: @JennaPrice
Facebook: JennaPriceJournalist
