Should your ministry talk about the Heartbeat Bill?

Last week, Texas passed the Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Of course, social media and the news quickly became flooded with a number of opinions: some celebratory, others condemnatory. Just scrolling through the Instagram stories of my friends on my personal Instagram account was enough to let me know how divisive this bill had already become, if I wasn't already aware.

Which begs the question: Should Catholic organizations share or talk about current events that speak on societal, moral, or political issues?

First off, I'm never going to recommend that you don't talk about your faith and beliefs because of fear about how it will affect your ministry. Absolutely defend what you believe in and don't shirk from the truth! However, what I do want to do is evaluate where these issues fit into your marketing strategy, if at all, when it comes to divisive issues.

So, does talking about these issues make sense for your organization? Here's some ways to decide:

Do you feel equipped to provide commentary?

What I would highly, highly, highly recommend against is simply sharing an article on your social media platforms with little to no context. We want to provide commentary because oftentimes, these are confusing issues. If your organization can be looked to as an authority on how to discern the morality at play within the issue - by all means, go ahead and share. Churches with strong priests who are willing to take on tough topics would most likely fall into this category, as well as "teaching" organizations: educational institutions, professional organizations, news platforms, and the like.

Another way to phrase this question: If someone showed up in the DMs wanting clarity on this issue, would I feel equipped to accurately defend the Church's teachings in a Christ-like manner? If the answer is no, then it's probably wise to sit out of the conversation or point to organizations that can do so.

Does it fit your purpose/mission?

I'm not saying this from a political or moral standpoint, but purely from a marketing standpoint: If it doesn't relate to your niche, then it probably doesn't make sense to share. Not because you don't feel strongly about it, but because it's not your lane. Want to share on your personal social media? Go for it. But unless it relates back to your mission, all you're going to do is enter a conversation that isn't related to you and confuse your audience about your mission. It's like the Super Bowl: unless your ministry has some connection to it, you probably aren't sharing the play by play of scores on your ministry account.

But doesn't every moral issue relate to my Catholic niche?

Yes and no. If part of your public mission is to share the truth about Catholic teachings, then yes, most if not all moral issues would fall into this category. But if your public mission is to get people to pray the rosary and decorate their homes wit