Catholic voters can be a voice for goodness
As the message of candidates reach a fevered pitch in the last hours before the election, it is important to remember that the Catholic voice is very much a part of the election psyche. Whether either side wants to admit it, with more than 47 million potential voters in the U.S. electorate, Catholics have been targeted for their vote.
According to a Zogby International poll, Catholics vote largely on both conservative and social values. Values that reflect the very building blocks of society, like dignity, freedom, justice and human rights, are at the core of the political debate. The U.S. bishops in their statement, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility, encourage the Catholic community to draw upon the rich tradition and teaching of the church regarding these principles of our social doctrine in forming their decisions at the ballot box.
In spite of attempts by political parties and their personalities to distort our social teaching, the Catholic Church in America reminds both candidates and the faithful that political responsibility is not just an exercise of personal ‘rights.’ More profoundly, it is an obligation we have to protect the rights of others in our community, especially the weakest and most vulnerable members.
Cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, abortion, racism, genocide and terrorism are always wrong because they are direct attacks against human life and destroy the interrelationships of trust that family and community should support. Bad immigration policy, same-sex marriage, poverty, pornography, hunger, homelessness, pollution and acts of war contribute to the break down of the social fabric and lead to the dehumanization of the entire human family. The bishops call our attention to these critical social issues in this election process because the Catholic voice has never been more needed to be articulated in the public forum.
A sober reading of the signs of the times indicates that a radical cultural transformation is in order. One that transcends political posturing and centers the discussion on just policies that serve to protect and promote the needs of the common good, not just individual wants. Given the fact that there is no perfect candidate, we are compelled to ask candidates to be attentive and accountable to these concerns of life and dignity, without which the democratic process and, even life itself, is meaningless.
More than a single vote, the Catholic voice is a prophetic witness to all that can be good and noble in a government and nation. How we treat our most vulnerable populations, the unborn, people with disabilities, the poor, and elderly is a clear moral test for a nation and its administration.
In the hours leading up to the Nov. 4 election, the Catholic community must keep in mind that the common good is not just a Catholic value, it is a founding principle of our nation expressed in the first three words of the Constitution, “We the people.”
For prayers before and after an election, visit http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/.
Stafford Shearer is the director of the Diocese of Orlando’s Office of Advocacy and Justice.
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