Summary Drawn from Parts of the USCCB's
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
(in full @ www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship-part-three)
Introduction
Our redemption has a social dimension because “God, in Christ, redeems not only the individual person, but also…. social relations.” To believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in everyone means realizing that He seeks to penetrate every human situation and all social bonds. . . . Accepting the first proclamation, which invites us to receive God’s love and to love Him in return with the very love which is His gift, brings forth in our lives and actions a primary and fundamental response: to desire, seek and protect the good of others. (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 178)
1. As a nation, we share many blessings and strengths, including a tradition of religious freedom and political participation. However, as a people, we face serious challenges that are both political and moral. This has always been so and as Catholics we are called to participate in public life in a manner consistent with the mission of our Lord, a mission that He has called us to share. As Pope Francis teaches,
An authentic faith . . . always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it. We love this magnificent planet on which God has put us, and we love the human family which dwells here, with all its tragedies and struggles, its hopes and aspirations, its strengths and weaknesses. The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters. If indeed “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics,” the Church, “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 183)
In this fight for justice, God gives us a special gift, hope, which Pope Benedict describes in Caritas in Veritate as “burst-[ing] into our lives as something not due to us [= not invented by us, hence…(ed.)], something that transcends every law of justice” (no. 34). Thus we take up the task of serving the common good with joy and hope, confident that God, Who “so loved the world that He gave His Only Son,” walks with us and strengthens us on the way (Jn 3:16). God is love [1 Jn 4:8], and He desires that we help to build a “civilization of love”—one in which all human beings have the freedom and opportunity to experience the love of God and live out that love by making a free gift of themselves to one another. [Hence] Pope Francis encourages us in Evangelii Gaudium…
…God’s Word teaches that our brothers and sisters are the prolongation of [Christ’s own (ed.)] incarnation for each
of us: “As you did it to one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it to Me” (Mt 25:40). The way we treat others has a transcendent dimension: “The measure you give will be the measure you get” (Mt 7:2). It corresponds to the mercy which God has shown us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you . . . For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk 6:36-38). What these passages make clear is the absolute priority of “going forth from ourselves toward our brothers and sisters” as one of the two great commandments [= “Love the Lord your God…and love your neighbor as yourself…” – see Leviticus 19:18 & Mark 12:30-31 (ed.)] which ground every moral norm and as the clearest sign for discerning spiritual growth in
response to God’s completely free gift. (no. 179)
Love compels us to “go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15)… Pope Francis continues, “Here ‘the whole creation’ refers to every aspect of human life; consequently, the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ has a universal destination. Its mandate of charity encompasses all dimensions of existence, all individuals, all areas of community life, and all peoples. Nothing human can be alien to it” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 181).
This “mandate” includes our engagement in political life.
2. The political realities of our nation present us with opportunities and challenges. 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 terminally ill, and the elderly, 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 charged with being good stewards of the earth’s environment, what Pope Francis calls “our common home,” which is being threatened. These challenges are at the heart of public life and at the center of the pursuit of the common good.* They are intertwined and inseparable….
3. For many years, we bishops of the United States have sought to share Catholic teaching on social and political life. We have done so in a series of statements issued every four years… maintaining continuity with what we have said in the past in light of new challenges facing our nation and world. This is not new teaching but affirms what is taught by our bishops’ conference and the whole Church.
4. As Catholics, we are part of a community with a rich heritage that helps us consider the challenges in public life and contribute to greater justice and peace for all people. Part of that rich heritage on faithful citizenship is the teaching of Vatican Council II’s Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae). It says that “society itself may profit by the moral qualities of justice and peace which have their origin in faithfulness to God and to His holy will” (no. 6). The work for justice requires that the mind and heart of Catholics be educated and formed to know and practice the whole faith.
5. This statement highlights the role of the Church in the formation of conscience and the corresponding moral responsibility of each Catholic to hear, receive, and act upon the Church’s teaching in the lifelong task of forming his or her own conscience [under Christ our Head (ed.)]. Foremost amongst those teachings are the four basic principles of Catholic social doctrine: 1) the dignity of the human person, 2) the common good, 3) subsidiarity [= the principle that, as much as possible, matters should be handled at the lowest level, by the least centralized competent authority, rather than by a higher, more distant one (ed.)], and 4) solidarity (see the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 160). With this foundation, Catholics are better able to evaluate policy positions, party platforms, and candidates’ promises and actions [after verifying them as far as possible (ed.)] in light of the Gospel and the moral and social teaching of the Church, in order to help build a better world. …
10. What faith teaches about the dignity of the human person, about the sacredness of every human life, and about humanity’s strengths and weaknesses helps us see more clearly the same truths that also come to us through the gift of human reason. At the center of these truths is respect for the dignity of every person. This is the core of Catholic moral and social teaching. Because we are people of both faith and reason, it is appropriate and necessary for us to bring this essential truth about human life and dignity to the public square. We are called to practice Christ’s commandment to “love one another” (Jn 13:34). We are also called to promote the well-being of all, to share our blessings with those most in need, to defend marriage, and to protect the lives and dignity of all, especially the weak, the vulnerable, the voiceless. In his first encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI explained that “charity must animate the entire lives of the lay faithful and therefore also their political activity, lived as ‘social charity‘” (no. 29).
11. Some question whether it is appropriate for the Church to play a role in political life. However, the obligation to teach the moral truths that should shape our lives, including our public lives, is central to the mission given to the Church by Jesus Christ. Moreover, the United States Constitution protects the right of individual believers and religious bodies to participate and speak out without government interference, favoritism, or discrimination. Civil law should fully recognize and protect the right of the Church and other institutions in civil society to participate in cultural, political, and economic life without being forced to abandon or ignore their central moral convictions. Our nation’s tradition of pluralism is enhanced, not threatened, when religious groups and people of faith bring their convictions and concerns into public life. Indeed, our Church’s teaching is in accord with the foundational values that have shaped our nation’s history: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
12. The Catholic community brings important assets to the political dialogue about our nation’s future. We bring a consistent moral framework-drawn from basic human reason that is illuminated by Scripture and the teaching of the Church… We also bring broad experience in serving those in need-educating the young, serving families in crisis, caring for the sick, sheltering the homeless, helping women who face difficult pregnancies, feeding the hungry, welcoming immigrants and refugees, reaching out in global solidarity, and pursuing peace. We celebrate, with all our neighbors, the historically robust commitment to religious freedom in this country that has allowed the Church the freedom to serve the common good. …
13. In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation. “People in every nation enhance the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible citizens” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 220). The obligation to participate in political life is rooted in our baptismal commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to bear Christian witness in all we do. …
24. Opposition to intrinsically evil acts, which undercut the dignity of the human person, should also open our eyes to the good we must do, that is, to our positive duty to contribute to the common good and to act in solidarity with those in need… Both opposing evil and doing good are essential obligations.
25. The right to life implies and is linked to other human rights-to the basic goods that every human person needs to live and thrive. All the life issues are connected, for erosion of respect for the life of any individual or group in society necessarily diminishes respect for all life. The moral imperative to respond to…our neighbor’s basic needs, such as food, shelter, health care, education, and meaningful work, is universally binding on our consciences and may be legitimately fulfilled by a variety of means. Catholics must seek the best ways to respond to these needs. As St. John XXIII taught, “[Each of us] has the right to life, to bodily integrity, and to the means which are suitable for the proper development of life; these are primarily food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, and, finally, the necessary social services” (Pacem in Terris, no. 11).
26. St. John Paul II explained the importance of being true to fundamental Church teachings: “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights—for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture—is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.” (Christifideles Laici, no. 38) …
34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers or the poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate its essential meaning, or racist behavior, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity [which is why we are also responsible to seek out, as far as possible, the ground truth re a candidate’s stance, etc. (ed.)!]. …
Part III - Goals for Political Life: Challenges for Citizens, Candidates, and Public Officials
91. As Catholics, we are led to raise questions for political life other than those that concentrate on individual, material well-being. Our focus is not on party affiliation, ideology, economics, or even competence and capacity to perform duties, as important as such issues are. Rather, we focus on what protects or threatens the dignity of every human life.
92. Catholic teaching challenges voters and candidates, citizens and elected officials, to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of public policy issues. In light of ethical principles, we bishops offer the following policy goals that we hope will guide Catholics as they form their consciences and reflect on the moral dimensions of their public choices. 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 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 life and dignity, and secure justice for all.
Some Final Notes
[Note * is referenced in the text provided above, the next two notes are references from parts of the document not provided here, but important for our individual reflection as part of this summary guide…]
* The common good is “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment [= as God intends (ed.)] more fully and more easily” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1906).
1. “Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a
mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church’s authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1792).
2. “When political activity comes up against moral principles that do not admit of exception, compromise, or derogation, the Catholic commitment becomes more evident and laden with responsibility. In the face of fundamental & inalienable ethical demands, Christians must recognize that what is at stake is the essence of the moral law, which concerns the integral good of the human person. This is the case with laws concerning abortion and euthanasia. . . . Such laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death” (Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, no. 4).] …