| Why did the Catholic bishops write Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship?
Every four years since 1976, the Catholic Bishops of the United States have issued a statement on our political responsibility as Catholics. Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (FCFS) is the most recent of these publications.
In FCFS, the Bishops encourage us to form our consciences and apply our faith to making sound political choices and moral judgments about public issues. It is the particular responsibility of the laity to work for a just ordering of society and FCFS challenges Catholics to fulfill that duty.
Does the Church have the right and responsibility to address political issues?
The Church has a God-given responsibility to teach the Gospel and in particular to apply its moral teaching to public life. In turn, Catholics are morally obligated to participate in forming a just society and promoting the well-being of others.
Our government and the law recognize the Church’s right to participate in society without setting aside her convictions. When people of faith bring their beliefs and principles into the political realm, our country’s respect for diverse religious beliefs and its foundational moral character are enhanced, not threatened.
Furthermore, the Church has much to offer in the political and public arena, including a consistent moral framework for analyzing issues, and a wealth of experience in serving those in need. The Church is involved in the political process without being partisan; she seeks to engage political and public officials from every party in serious moral analysis of issues.
With what moral issues does the Church show concern?
The essence of Church advocacy can be summarized in her commitment to the “consistent ethic of life”: we have a moral obligation to defend human life from conception to natural death, and to respect the human dignity of all. This framework does not treat all issues as equivalent, but establishes the respect for human dignity and human life as foundational. FCFS clearly sets for the view that Catholics are not “one issue” voters; the Church is concerned with all situations in which human life or dignity is threatened.
FCFS focuses on four main areas of concern: (1) protecting human life, (2) upholding family life, (3) pursuing social justice, and (4) practicing global solidarity.
Is one of these issues more important that the others?
The intentional taking of innocent human life (as in abortion or euthanasia) is intrinsically evil and is not just one issue among many. It must never be condoned. Other direct threats to the dignity of human life (such as human cloning, research on human embryos, genocide, torture and terrorism) are also intrinsically evil.
However, this moral distinction can never be used to justify indifference to other serious threats to human dignity (such as hunger, poverty, or lack of health care), or apathy toward the obligation to do good. We are obligated both to oppose evil and to do good.
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Is the Catholic Church a one-issue Church? No, Catholics should not be one-issue voters. A candidate’s position on one issue is not enough to guarantee our support. However, if a candidate takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil (e.g. abortion or racism), a voter legitimately can disqualify that candidate from receiving his or her support.
Does the Church take a position on particular political parties or candidates?
The Bishops do not tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. That decision lies with each person in light of his or her informed conscience. The Bishops’ purpose is to help Catholics to form their consciences according to Church teaching and God’s truth.
It is important to note, however, that as Catholics, our votes and actions should be guided more by our faith convictions and adherence to the Truth of the Gospel than y allegiance to an interest group or political party.
What is the Church’s position on endorsing political candidates?
The Church’s role in this arena is to educate
Catholics on Church teaching to enable them to exercise their conscience and free will to make informed decisions. Endorsements would be both inappropriate and impossible—no political party and too few political candidates fully embrace all of Church teaching. Catholic social teaching does not fit neatly into the typical ideological categories of “right” or “left,” “liberal” or “conservative.”
How does a Catholic vote when no candidate supports the full Catholic position?
Catholics cannot vote for a candidate who supports any intrinsic evil (such as abortion) if the voter’s intent is to support that position. To do so would qualify as intentional cooperation in grave evil. However, a Catholic who rejects such a moral evil may vote for such a candidate, but only for other morally grave reasons. Additionally, the Catholic voter cannot simply dismiss that intrinsically evil position as somehow unimportant in the context of other issues. A candidate’s support of an intrinsic evil is a critical issue that cannot be brushed aside.
If all the candidates support an intrinsic moral evil such as abortion, the voter may decide not to vote for any candidate, or may decide to vote for the candidate most likely to pursue other moral goods.
How is the virtue of prudence different from waffling on the important issues?
Prudence enables us “to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it” (Catechism of the Catholic Church). Catholics may respond to social issues in different ways, but we must never use immoral means to achieve a good end.
When unjust laws exist, in our efforts to protect human life and dignity, we may support legislation that restores justice only partially, as a way of limiting the harm done by the law. For example, a Catholic may support legislation that limits the use of the death penalty, if legislation abolishing the death penalty is unlikely to pass.
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