My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, New Yorkers will go to the polls to vote for our Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller as well as members of Congress and State legislators. Citizenship confers on us all many rights and also burdens and some obligations. We, who are fortunate to live in a representative democracy, have a special religious obligation to take seriously our patriotic duty to vote.
My grandfather, who came to the U.S. in 1913, did not become a citizen until 1945, a pattern followed by many old immigrants. My grandmother waited until she was 85 to become a citizen. One of the proudest days of her life was when she took the oath of citizenship with me standing by her side. She could not wait to exercise her right to vote now that she was a citizen. Both were proud to be U.S. citizens.
When I became 18, my grandfather wanted to give me a voting lesson. He said, “Go into the booth, when you see an Italian name, pull down the leaver.” In the past, voting was an exercise in ethnic loyalty or voting for party loyalty. Today, however, we need to go beyond the past and be truly discerning Catholic voters.
By virtue of our common humanity, we have certain human rights of which we can never be justly deprived. The Declaration of Independence speaks of these rights of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Yet, as American citizens, we also have certain rights, civil rights, that are bestowed upon us by virtue of our citizenship in the U.S. This is our inheritance. These might include “due process” and “trial by a jury of our peers” as well as the right to “face our accuser.” Similarly, we understand our citizenship in the context that government has limited powers over our lives and property.
Yet, this inheritance comes with corresponding responsibilities. The central responsibility in a representative democracy is our participation in the process that chooses who will exercise power in our name. For in a representative democracy, we all bear the burden of how power is exercised in our name.
Recently, our Holy Father, Pope Francis spoke of how “corruption is a greater evil than sin.” He observed this because the corrupt clothe themselves in righteousness, and it is difficult for them to grasp their own wrongdoing.
We have all read the stories of how corruption has taken root in our own state. This happens in part because fewer than 28 percent of registered voters in the City of New York and 53 percent of voters throughout the State of New York can be expected to cast ballots. Each passing year, as participation declines, basic rights and liberties are undermined. Corruption and a sense of entitlement take hold of our politicians. In my view, it is a grave violation of our civic and moral obligation when we fail to vote.
The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago once proposed a seamless garment of values that ought to inform our political decisions. As one of the architects of the Bishop’s Statement on Political Responsibility in 2008, I would propose a slightly more nuanced position. Certainly, the primacy of human life must be safeguarded. It is an absolute right that one may never be justly deprived. As our Holy Father reminds us, we must also be attentive to the needs of the poor, those who are suffering from the ravages of war and the alien in our midst. The common thread that binds together this seamless garment, a phrase coined by Cardinal Bernardin, is the dignity and sanctity of human life.
Of course, choosing between evil and good is easy. We, however, often find ourselves having to choose between candidates that are much more complicated. Asceticism is choosing the highest good. This requires that we examine the positions of candidates for public office and try and discern that person who will best represent our particular worldview which is informed by our Catholic faith.
In other words, it is a difficult business. It requires prayer and study. No candidate is ideal. However, some are less ideal than others.
Voting is a sacred obligation. As we put out into the deep, we all should seek to ensure that our representative democracy is free of all corruption and cronyism. We should elect officials who are agents of peace in our world and community and advocates of justice for the poor and displaced. May they seek to build up the common good by recognizing the importance of the family and seek to strengthen that which is the building block of our society. Of paramount importance, may they always defend that fundamental right, which is the dignity and sanctity of human life.
Join me in casting your vote this Tuesday, Nov. 4.
