My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
As Americans, we have found ourselves swept up in a heated political campaign season. Within days, voters will head to the polls to cast their vote and decide who will fulfill the next four-year term for President of the United States. We, as Catholics, are called by the Church to fully participate in the political process and to all take very seriously the issues and challenges we, as a nation, face as we make our decision on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Over the last several weeks, I have reflected on the issues that we ought to consider in advance of the election. My hope is that Catholic voters have a clear understanding of the principles of Catholic moral and social teaching and how they each apply to politics and public policy. Our legislators are elected to serve and protect the common good, human dignity and the natural rights of human persons.
The Church is obligated to teach every generation what the faith means for them. Some political issues are straightforward matters of good versus evil, while others involve prudential judgement.
Foundational Issue
Abortion is the foundational political issue because the right to life is the basis of all the other human rights. Thus the bishops teach that laws that permit, expand or pay for medically induced abortions must always be opposed. Such laws directly undermine the values upon which all other principles are based.
As I previously wrote, so-called same-sex marriage became legal in New York State last year. We who are Catholics failed in our efforts to articulate the unique and special benefits afforded to children who grow up in a loving home with a father and a mother. In my view, we as a Church have not done enough to support families when they are in distress. Consequently, where we failed is not in opposing a redefinition of marriage, but rather in living out the compelling reasons why marriage is and only can be conceived between a man and woman.
Religious liberty is a fundamental human right ingrained in the dignity of the human person and protected by the First Amendment. My brother bishops and I have declared that the Health and Human Services mandate requiring Catholic institutions to offer insurance coverage for contraception including abortifacients and sterilization is a clear infringement of religious liberty.
On the issue of poverty, the preferential option for the poor requires that all members of society have the responsibility to assist the poor and oppressed. The poor must have access to the education and job training necessary to compete in today’s job market. Strong families that remain intact help keep their family members from falling into poverty.
Immigration has been an issue very close to my heart since I began my priesthood. This is a moral matter because it is related to social justice as well as family life, and, therefore, it is essential for us to consider. Are our national policies grounded in the principles of concern for the dignity of the human person and the command of Christ to care for the stranger in our midst? There are many ways in which we can strive to live up to that command of Our Lord. In this case, lawmakers and voters are called to exercise prudential judgment, because we do not normally deal with intrinsically evil acts such as abortion.
Advocate for Inviolable Truths
As we put out into the deep this week, let us choose those who will represent us at the highest level of government. We, as Catholics, are called to advocate for those truths which are inviolable while at the same time seeking to build consensus.
Let us contemplate the words of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, when he spoke to the Pontifical Council for the Laity, “It is also the duty of the laity to participate actively in political life, in a manner consistently in accordance with the Church’s teaching, bringing their well-founded reasons and high ideals into the democratic debate, and into the search for a broad consensus among all those who care about the defense of life and freedom, the safeguarding of truth and the good of the family, solidarity with the needy and the crucial search for the common good.”
For more information, see Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility (www.usccb.org), the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
