Some years ago the American bishops issued a statement entitled Forming Consciences for Citizenship. We stated, “In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” When we don’t like the way things are going in government, we have an opportunity to speak up loudly and clearly. How? Through our vote. This responsibility is something we should begin to discuss in family life. We all need to be more aware and concerned about governmental policies. Both as humanitarians and people of faith, we should think about the issues in moral terms.
The church has no desire to endorse candidates or political parties. Nor are we interested imposing doctrinal beliefs on our fellow citizens. But good pastors try their best to help Catholics form their consciences, evaluate political candidates and public policies and, most important of all, bring forth the love and truth of Jesus Christ. In preparing for this year’s election, you might do well to review the U.S. Bishop’s 2007 statement on faithful citizenship. You can review the document at www.faithfulcitizenship.org. Four major themes are highlighted in that document. I want to reiterate them now so that you will have them in mind as you review your ballot before voting. They are:
The right to life of every human person from conception to natural death, must be protected.
Marriage between a man and woman is not just a sacred good but a social good that government needs to recognize, encourage and protect.
The Catholic consistent life ethic “extends from the vulnerable inside the womb to the vulnerable outside the womb.”
Natural resources are God-given and “we are all responsible for protecting them.”
Certainly we bishops recognize that some people question whether religion and politics should ever interact. We Catholics come from a long tradition which respects the importance of both faith and reason in our ongoing effort to encourage opposing evil and doing good. Both are central obligations and too often the wrong answers to important questions are given when God is left out of the picture.
The church describes two “temptations in public life” that voters can fall into: the first one, “moral equivalence”, which makes no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity; the second, “the misuse of moral distinctions” as a way of dismissing or ignoring other serious threats to human life and dignity.
The first temptation often comes up in discussing questions involving respect for life. Even though both matters are serious, there is a difference in terms of moral evil with respect to abortion and the death penalty. The second temptation occurs when people become one-issue voters and fail to consider all the other serious problems confronting our people and our times. Both are distortions of our church’s teaching.
There are many important things to consider and discuss before casting your vote. But the most important counsel I offer all of you is this: vote! I was raised in Chicago and you know what they say about voting in Chicago: “Vote early and vote often.” I am not subscribing to the latter and I am not necessarily advocating the former, but I do ask you to vote before the ballots are counted the evening of November 2. God bless America.
