Published Sunday, June 12, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Updated Sunday, June 12, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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The dots have been connected.
There is no more room for wiggling. There is no more opportunity for people who can’t admit even to themselves that America was attacked from within — and the then-president of the United States was the chief architect of the plot — to wriggle out of an admission that they were wrong. That they were deluded and that they allowed themselves to be sucked into a conspiracy theory designed only to protect the wrongdoers and thwart those who sought to save our democracy.
Thursday night’s prime time Jan. 6 committee hearing laid it bare for all to see. We know who was responsible and we know what we need to do to defend the U.S. Constitution against further attacks.
Now, we the people need to act — as Americans who care deeply for our democracy and who don’t care for those who would destroy it. And we need our elected leaders to act in good faith and with common purpose to hold accountable all those who tried to defile the Constitution.
That is something much easier said than done — especially in today’s divided America, where our politics drive our decisions regardless of what is right or wrong. This is the time when leaders of principle, who are faithful to something greater than themselves, and who are true to their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution, need to stand up and take action.
This is also a time when I am having trouble finding more than a few of those honest men and women who will do just that. It is a time when, frankly, I miss leaders like Harry Reid, who never got confused about right and wrong.
Recently, my old and dear friend Dave Belding sent me some reminiscences of Father Joe Annese about Reid, Nevada’s former senator and Senate majority leader.
Father Joe, who has lived in Clark County for a half-century during which he pastored in North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Las Vegas to multiple generations of Nevadans, recounted his lunches with Reid. In doing so, he described Harry as a man of abiding faith and unwavering commitment to public service.
In short, he described exactly the kind of political leadership America needs today, right now, to step up, shore up and sew up the rending fabric of our democracy.
I am honored to share his thoughts with Sun readers. They follow:
Fr. Joe Annese
During the last two years of the life of Sen. Reid, a dear friend of mine and close friend to the senator, Dave Belding, called me four times to inform me that the senator wanted to have lunch with us. I couldn’t imagine why I was invited. I was a good friend of Mary Reid, the aunt of Harry Reid, for many years, but I really don’t get enthusiastically involved in politics. At any rate, Belding and I met with the senator twice for lunch at his favorite restaurant, and then once at the Bellagio. The fourth time, we met him in his office at UNLV.
During that first lunch meeting, the senator delved right into why I was invited. He had been at the funeral of a mutual friend of ours, and something in my homily (sermon) indicated to him that I was familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, Bonhoeffer studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of America to return to Germany and continued his public repudiation of the Nazis, which led to his arrest in 1943. He was hanged in April 1945 after he was linked to a group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler failed.
The senator was thoroughly impressed with this Lutheran theologian who had the audacity, courage and commitment to join several German officers in an attempt to assassinate Hitler.
It didn’t take me long to realize that the senator was enamored of this man, Bonhoeffer. It was obvious that he had read several books by Bonhoeffer.
Reid was impressed with Bonhoeffer’s decision not only to stand up for his moral convictions, but also his spirituality. The senator, in a very pensive way, as though speaking to himself, remarked, “Father Joe, you don’t find that kind of commitment too often these days, especially in Washington. In fact, the word God is seldom used in those halls of Congress.”
“Interesting,” I replied. “Bonhoeffer asked in ‘The Cost of Christianity’: Where are all the priests, ministers, bishops, Christians who are not speaking out in these horrible, frightening times?”
Reid said, again reflecting his knowledge of Bonhoeffer, “This man Bonhoeffer knew how difficult it was to be a person of courage and of high moral standards. He did not fear the consequences of his decisions.” I assured the senator that Bonhoeffer himself stated: “To endure the cross is not a tragedy, it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.” Reid agreed with a smile, and nodding his head, added, “Very exclusive!” I am sure Reid was very familiar with this Lutheran theologian.
Several times the senator spoke of faith, both in God and in America, both in secular and sacred terms. This is the side of the senator’s character that has to be told and remembered as much as possible.
He seemed to be searching for an answer and analysis of the interplay between the religious and the secular. I was tempted to suggest that he read “The Secular City,” by Harvey Cox of Harvard University, but I didn’t want to be pushy, for he had enough on his plate dealing with cancer.
Reid was getting rather profound in his talking about God, who acts in history, and not just in church — how God acts and is present in our history today. In a befuddled way, I looked at my friend Dave Belding, wondering if I was getting in over my head as the senator continued talking about God, Bonhoeffer’s theology and profound commitment. Even though I read several books by Bonhoeffer and a portion of his letters from prison, I came away from each meeting convinced that the senator seemed to have read more.
We really did not talk about politics too much. He was more interested in what I had to say about Bonhoeffer, his theology, and his profound dedication in speaking against Hitler’s ambitious drive through Europe. Now and then, the senator engaged Dave about past and present Nevada politicians.
Dave and I could detect at each visit when the senator, though he enjoyed sharing his thoughts with us, was getting tired, so we graciously put an end to our meetings. But before we ended our privileged time with Reid, he always requested that we pray together and asked me for my priestly blessings. And so we held hands, prayed, and I placed my hands on his head and prayed that the Almighty God send choicest blessings on this very good man.
This man, the senator, did not wear his spirituality on his sleeve cuff, but one could see that he was a man of profound faith, dedicated to God, country and the Constitution. His love and deep dedication to his country was so impressive to me and Dave that we commented on it as we walked to our car after each meeting.
At one of our meetings, I reminded Reid of a moving moment when a few years back, while visiting him in his office in the Capitol, along with several other priests, he shared with us a time when he was speaking with a couple of Cardinals about immigration. According to the senator, just before the Cardinals left his office, he requested that they both bless him. The senator knelt down and graciously accepted the blessings of the two. He said it was one of the most moving moments of his life and that he shared that moment with his family and grandchildren. The other priests and I were moved to tears. Before we left, together, we four priests blessed him and his work.
Zachary D. Carter on Jan. 22 wrote in Politico: “I cannot help but admire him. In my lifetime, I do not think that the Democratic Party has had a more effective leader, morally or strategically, than Harry Reid. From that first phone call in 2008 through to his retirement, I learned that Reid was the savviest political fighter of his generation, a man who didn’t telegraph his punches, who carefully coordinated his troops to ensure that when they fought, it was on favorable ground, and who battled like hell for moral victory when a losing fight could not be avoided.”
Sometime after Reid’s funeral, Dave Belding and I were reminiscing about our luncheons and meeting with the senator. Dave said, “Joe, do you realize how fortunate and honored we were to be invited to meet with and spend some very precious time with the senator and to share his thoughts, convictions, his faith and his profound dedication as a political servant?” I had to agree. What a joy and privilege, what a gift, what a grace to have been in this man’s presence, a man of solid faith, and commitment to his country.
