Back in November 2007, when the body of Catholic bishops in the United States approved a new voting guide for Catholics, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, then-head of the bishops’ conference, said it was a “good teaching document” that was important given the complexities of the current political situation.
In 2024, a complex political situation remains, as neither major political party candidate fully aligns with the Church on the central issues. Pope Francis even recently opined that while U.S. Catholics “have to vote” this election, they are choosing “the lesser evil.”
What remains in 2024 is essentially the voting guide the U.S. bishops approved in 2007. Titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the 64-page document offers guidance to Catholics on how to apply Catholic teachings to major political issues — human life, religious freedom, preferential option for the poor, and economic justice, health care, migration, Catholic education, and care for our common home among them.
The bishops’ “Call to Political Responsibility” has undergone several revisions since it was published almost 17 years ago. The last update was in 2015. Last November, the bishops left the document untouched except for an introductory note that highlights abortion as the pre-eminent priority at the polls.
“The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone,” the introductory note states, adding that other grave threats to the life and dignity of the human person include euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, and human trafficking.
The note also lists the redefinition of gender and marriage, threats to religious freedom at home and abroad, a lack of justice for the poor, the suffering of migrants and refugees, wars and famines around the world, racism, the need for greater access to healthcare and education, and care for our common home, as current issues for voters to prioritize.
“All threaten the dignity of the human person,” the document states of those issues.
What follows is a more detailed look at some of the issues in the Faithful Citizenship voter guide.