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Statement
from the Peace and Social Justice Ministry on Voter’s Guides During this election year, it can be
anticipated that various organizations will produce voter’s guides and
literature in an effort to promote a particular value, agenda, candidate
or political party and that attempts will be made to distribute these
guides through the local parish. Parishes wishing to distribute
literature are encouraged to choose Faithful Citizenship, or
other materials from the USCCB, Catholic Conference of Illinois, and
this office. Parish leaders are urged to be cautious in allowing the
distribution of voter’s guides or political literature from other
organizations. The USCCB Office of the General Counsel offers
comprehensive guidelines on political activity by parishes. These can be
viewed on-line at http://www.usccb.org/ogc
The position of the U.S. Catholic Conference of
Bishops is that the Church does not have a litmus test or non-negotiable
issues when it comes to voting for political candidates. In fact, the
Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith writes in
Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of
Catholics in Political Life: “It
must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience does not
permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which
contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals. The Christian
faith is an integral unity, and thus it is incoherent to isolate some
particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A
political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s
social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility towards the
common good.” Parish
leaders should be aware that even though a publication comes from an
organization claiming to provide the Catholic answer to voter’s
questions does not mean that it has approval of the U.S. Bishops or that
it is doctrinally correct or legal. Parishes distributing materials that
promote a candidate or political party risk violation of I.R.S. tax
codes. Some voter’s guides and other similar literature amount to
promotion of single issue voting, and, by design or default, endorsement
of a particular party. Catholics represent a prize block of voters and
there may be groups who would seek to manipulate the good intentions of
Catholic voters to their own political ends. In the cautious wording of Faithful
Citizenship”: A Catholic moral framework does not easily fit the
ideologies of "right" or "left," nor the platforms
of any party...Our responsibility is to measure all candidates,
policies, parties, and platforms by how they protect or undermine the
life, dignity, and rights of the human person -- whether they protect
the poor and vulnerable and advance the common good." The
Faithful Citizenship document also reminds us that people will
and should make prudential judgments, based on their informed conscience
and embrace of Gospel values, especially as they have been articulated
in Catholic social teaching. Such prudential judgments include
weighing the possibility that a particular candidate who holds a
particular position on a particular issue "at this time" could
very possibly be persuaded to change her/his position after dialogue and
persuasive efforts. (Is there a politician anywhere who has never
changed her/his mind on issues?) The
democratic process in America is at the same time idealist and value
driven as well as pragmatic and strategic. Each individual must decide
for himself or herself, from a well-formed conscience, how best to
engage the political process to promote and achieve the full range of
Catholic values for the common good.
Parish leaders are encouraged to educate their
parishioners in the teaching of the Church on values for the common good
and of the importance of participation in the political process, of
their need to be “faithful citizens.”
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