The Upcoming Elections

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A few words on the upcoming elections. 

 

Every Catholic Should Vote

It is a great privilege to participate in elections. 

Catholics can and should be a strong influence in the development of a just and good society. There are many issues that are valuable to Catholics and our vote does make a difference. 

 

Pray and Study Before You Vote:

We vote for a candidate that will best represent our values as a Catholic.

There is no perfect candidate so we have to study, pray and discern.

God does have a will in this.

 

Not Every Issue Has Equal Value

Catholics look not only at the issues that are important as a Christian, but also the weight they carry. All the issues are extremely important, but those that carry the heaviest weight are intrinsically evil acts (like the taking of innocent human life through abortion or euthanasia), which are always wrong and hurt the good of society and are offensive to God.  

 

As you can see from the list below The Right to Life is obviously of the highest importance, since, if we don’t have life, we have no other rights. 

There are crystal clear divisions in the policies being put forth in the presidential race in regards to life issues.

 

Catholics should also preeminently be concerned about marriage and family life, education, concern for the poor, immigration, etc…

 

We want to discern and assess which candidates in our local and national elections support the issues that mean most to Catholics. 

 

Below are some excerpts from the document on voting from the Bishops Conference which can be found in its entirety here: https://www.usccb.org/resources/forming-consciences-faithful-citizenship-pdf. I have not included all issues so as to not overwhelm you, but more to give you a sense of where our heart should be as we vote.

 

From Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship:

 

 

Ten Goals on Policy: 

Not all issues are equal; these ten goals address matters of different moral weight and urgency. Some involve intrinsically evil acts, which can never be approved. Others involve affirmative obligations to seek the common good. These and similar goals can help voters and candidates act on ethical principles rather than particular interests and partisan allegiances. We hope Catholics will ask candidates how they intend to help our nation pursue these important goals:

 

• Address the preeminent requirement to protect the weakest in our midst—innocent unborn children—by restricting and bringing to an end the destruction of unborn children through abortion and providing women in crisis pregnancies the supports they need to make a decision for life. 

• Keep our nation from turning to violence to address fundamental problems—a million abortions each year to deal with unwanted pregnancies, euthanasia and assisted suicide to deal with the burdens of illness and disability, the destruction of human embryos in the name of research, the use of the death penalty to combat crime, and imprudent resort to war to address international disputes. 

• Protect the fundamental understanding of marriage as the life-long and faithful union of one man and one woman and as the central institution of society; promote the complementarity of the sexes and reject false "gender" ideologies; and provide better support for family life morally, socially, and economically, so that our nation helps parents raise their children with respect for life, sound moral values, and an ethic of stewardship and responsibility. 

• Achieve comprehensive immigration reform that offers a path to citizenship, treats immigrant workers fairly, prevents the separation of families, maintains the integrity of our borders, respects the rule of law, and addresses the factors that compel people to leave their own countries. 

• Help families and children overcome poverty: ensuring access to and choice in education, as well as decent work at fair, living wages and adequate assistance for the vulnerable in our nation, while also helping to overcome widespread hunger and poverty around the world, especially in the areas of development assistance, debt relief, and international trade. 

• Provide health care while respecting human life, human dignity, and religious freedom in our health care system. 

• Continue to oppose policies that reflect prejudice, hostility toward immigrants, religious bigotry, and other forms of unjust discrimination. 

• Encourage families, community groups, economic structures, and government to work together to overcome poverty, pursue the common good, and care for creation, with full respect for individuals and groups and their right to address social needs in accord with their basic moral and religious convictions. 

• Establish and comply with moral limits on the use of military force—examining for what purposes it may be used, under what authority, and at what human cost—with a special view to seeking a responsible and effective response for ending the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East and other parts of the world. 

• Join with others around the world to pursue peace, protect human rights and religious liberty, and advance economic justice and care for creation.

The Issues That Matter Most to Catholics Continued…

 

Here are some more excerpts from the document.

 

Human Life 

Abortion, the deliberate killing of a human being before birth, is never morally acceptable and must always be opposed. Cloning and destruction of human embryos for research or even for potential cures are always wrong. The purposeful taking of human life by assisted suicide and euthanasia is not an act of mercy, but an unjustifiable assault on human life. Laws that legitimize any of these practices are profoundly unjust and immoral. 

 

Marriage and Family Life 

The family founded upon marriage is the basic cell of human society. The role, responsibilities, and needs of families should be central national priorities. Marriage must be defined, recognized, and protected as a lifelong exclusive commitment between a man and a woman, and as the source of the next generation and the protective haven for children

 

Religious Freedom 

In the United States, religious freedom generally enjoys strong protection in our law and culture, but those protections are now in doubt. For example, the longstanding tax exemption of the Church has been explicitly called into question at the highest levels of government, precisely because of her teachings on marriage. Catholics have a particular duty to make sure that protections like these do not weaken but instead grow in strength.

Policies on taxes, work, divorce, immigration, and welfare should uphold the God-given meaning and value of marriage and family, help families stay together, and reward responsibility and sacrifice for children. 

 

Preferential Option for the Poor and Economic Justice 

Economic decisions and institutions should be assessed according to whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person. Social and economic policies should foster the creation of jobs for all who can work with decent working conditions and just wages. Barriers to equal pay and employment for women and those facing unjust discrimination must be overcome.

 

Faith-based groups deserve recognition and support, not as a substitute for government, but as responsive, effective partners, especially in the poorest communities and countries. The USCCB actively supports conscience clauses and other religious freedom protections, opposes any effort to undermine the ability of faith-based groups to preserve their identity and integrity as partners with government, and is committed to protecting long-standing civil rights and other protections for both religious groups and the people they serve. 

 

Health Care 

Affordable and accessible health care is an essential safeguard of human life and a fundamental human right. Despite an increase in the number of people insured, millions of Americans still lack health care coverage. Health care coverage remains an urgent national priority. The nation's health care system needs to be rooted in values that respect human dignity, protect human life, respect the principle of subsidiarity, and meet the needs of the poor and uninsured, especially born and unborn children, pregnant women, immigrants, and other vulnerable populations. 

 

Migration 

The Gospel mandate to "welcome the stranger" requires Catholics to care for and stand with newcomers, authorized and unauthorized, including unaccompanied immigrant children, refugees and asylum-seekers, those unnecessarily detained, and victims of human trafficking. Comprehensive reform is urgently necessary to fix a broken immigration system and should include a broad and fair legalization program with a path to citizenship; a work program with worker protections and just wages; family reunification policies; access to legal protections, which include due process procedures; refuge for those fleeing persecution and violence; and policies to address the root causes of migration.

 

Catholic Education

Parents—the first and most important educators—have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools. Government, through such means as tax credits and publicly funded scholarships, should help provide resources for parents, especially those of modest means, to exercise this basic right without discrimination.

 

Other issues that are of importance

Promoting Justice and Countering Violence

Combating Unjust Discrimination 

Care for Our Common Home 

Communications, Media, and Culture 

Global Solidarity