Faithful Decisions
By Rich Reece
This November, faithful Catholics in the Diocese of Raleigh will be voting their consciences. But they won’t, whether on a national, state or local level, all be voting for the same candidates. And that, according to Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, is as it should be.
The document, approved by the full body of Bishops at its November 2007 General Meeting, can be read in full at http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf It begins with a powerful statement about the contradictory state of the nation:
“We are a nation founded on ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ but the
right to life itself is not fully protected, especially for unborn children, the most vulnerable members of the American family. We are called to be peacemakers in a nation at war. We are a country pledged to pursue ‘liberty and justice for all,’ but we are too often divided across lines of race, ethnicity, and economic inequality. We are a nation of immigrants, struggling to address the challenges of many new immigrants in our midst. We are a society built on the strength of our families, called to defend marriage and offer moral and economic supports for family life. We are a powerful nation in a violent world, confronting terror and trying to build a safer, more just, more peaceful world. We are an affluent society where too many live in poverty and lack health care and other necessities of life. We are part of a global community facing urgent threats to the environment that must sustain us.”
The Bishops go on to explain that it is not the Church’s intention to tell Catholics for whom to vote, but instead to help them form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth.
Last spring, Joan Rosenhauer, Associate Director of the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development, and an important collaborator in the formation of the Bishops’ statement, spoke to catechists in Raleigh. “The message begins,” she said, “by connecting faith and politics with the Eucharist. What does the Eucharist mean and what does it call us to?” She quoted John Paul II, who wrote that “our mutual love and concern for those in need” will be “the criterion by which our Eucharistic celebration is judged.”
“So we are called to love God and to love others in every action of our lives,” Rosenhauer said, “and a key place for that is in our opportunities as citizens.”
In their document, the Bishops point out that not all issues are of equal importance:
“There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because
they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are so
deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These
are called ‘intrinsically evil’ actions. They must always be rejected and opposed
and must never be supported or condoned. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia…
“Similarly, direct threats to the sanctity and dignity of human life, such as human cloning and destructive research on human embryos, are also intrinsically evil. These must always be opposed. Other direct assaults on innocent human life and violations of human dignity, such as genocide, torture, racism, and the targeting of noncombatants in acts of terror or war, can never be justified.”
Still, the Bishops say, “There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.
“When all candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of not voting for any candidate or, after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods.”
As Rosenhauer stressed, “Faithful citizenship goes well beyond voting. It’s about working at all times for a society that respects the dignity of every human being, that seeks the common good, and that protects the weak and the vulnerable.”
To help North Carolina Catholics further that objective, the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh, and the Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, announced in July the creation of Catholic Voice NC, a statewide initiative to give Catholics in North Carolina the opportunity to communicate with their state legislators on issues of importance.
At a news conference at the State Legislative Building in Raleigh, the Bishops outlined the focus of Catholic Voice NC and unveiled a new joint website, www.CatholicVoiceNC.org, which will provide information to subscribers on legislative matters of interest to Catholics in light of Catholic teaching. Subscribers will receive “alerts” notifying them of pending legislation and a have access to a system allowing them the capability to voice their support or objection to the legislation by email, telephone or regular mail.
“Our primary concern will always be the sacredness of all human life and the dignity of each and every person: the unborn, the underprivileged and the often forgotten… individuals who do not have very many advocates or lobbyists,” Bishop Burbidge said.
“Catholic Voice North Carolina will not endorse candidates or political parties,” Bishop Jugis said in his statement. “We will call Catholics to action on legislative matters that touch upon Holy Scripture and/or the teaching of the Catholic Church.”
At the same news conference, the Bishops announced that Msgr. Michael Clay, Pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in Clayton, would be a registered lobbyist to the State Legislature on issues of concern to Catholics. Msgr. Clay spoke with NC Catholics about issues of this kind which may occupy lawmakers in the upcoming session of the North Carolina General Assembly.
“Funding for embryonic stem cell research will likely reappear,” Msgr. Clay said. “Efforts will be made to get legislation passed that will ask for a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman at one time. It has failed for five years to be voted on in either chamber of the legislature and next year it will face an uphill battle.
“Comprehensive sex education will likely be back in the next session. Proponents want to replace abstinence-based sex education with this version. An effort will be made to recognize the murder of a pregnant woman and her unborn child as a double homicide. This too will face an uphill struggle from adversaries who are anxious about any recognition of an unborn child as a human being. The ‘Choose Life’ license plate will be introduced again and it will face opposition from pro-choice lobbyists and legislators.”
So the election is only part of the journey for faithful Catholic citizens. With well- formed consciences and well-informed minds, the next step will be letting their voices be heard – in Washington, in Raleigh, and in their hometowns.
“Legislators have told us,” Msgr. Clay said, “that the voices of their constituents are heard, especially if they oppose pending legislation. All politics is local, as the saying goes, and a legislator doesn't generally want to alienate a constituency in his or her district, especially one who argues from rational moral principles. Catholics in a legislative district who ban together to voice a united front on an issue will likely be heard. A legislator who runs unopposed, wins by a wide margin, and/or enjoys significant power may be more immune to the voices of opposition but that shouldn't deter voters from expressing their position on pending legislation, especially if it is inconsistent with the moral principles of the Church that exist for the common good.”