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Arlington Diocese Peace and Justice Conference

Faithful Citizenship: Questions for Catholics to Ponder before the Election

Former Director of the Office of Peace and Justice of the Richmond Diocese; currently Director of the Department of International Justice and Peace of the US Council of Catholic Bishops

Introduction:

My talk today will be based on "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility," a statement by the Administrative Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and on a recent Vatican "Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life."

Elections present moral challenges for conscientious Catholics.

These challenges are exacerbated by a highly polarized political environment in which civil debate is often eclipsed by the attack ads and sound bites.

In this talk I will attempt to move beyond political ideologies to do two things:

1. Explore the role of the Church in the political process, and
2. Describe the guidance the Church can offer during the election.

I have a request to make before we begin. I ask you to "check your hats at the door."

What do I mean by checking our hats at the door?

• We all wear hats. Some of us wear conservative hats. Others wear progressive hats. Some of us bear hats with Elephant ears. Others wear hats with donkey ears.
• I'm asking all of us to check our hats at the door and instead to wear the hat of faith for tonight's reflections.
• Instead, here and now, let's create a safe and challenging space for respectful dialogue on the issues of our day.

Today let's use the lens of faith tonight to look at the issues of this election. Let's not use partisan or ideological lenses.

For too many Catholics their primary reference point for political decisions is a partisan or ideological worldview, not the Church's teaching. These Catholics are interested in Church social teaching, but primarily those parts of the teaching the bolster their political predisposition.

Finally, before we begin, it's probably important that I tell you what I won't do in this talk.

• I will not tell you for whom to vote (and neither, incidentally, do the bishops or the Vatican!).

I. What is the proper role of the Church in the public square?

First, we need to answer the question that many ask: Why is the Church involved in political issues? Isn't there supposed to be a "separation of Church and state?"

• The phrase, "separation of Church and state," is unfortunate; it makes it sound like religion is simply a private matter with no public relevance.
• Most people think that the phrase is in our nation's Constitution; it is not.

The U.S. Constitution does two things; it speaks of the government not establishing a religion and it guarantees the free exercise of religion.

• Originally the non-establishment clause was designed to protect religion from state control, and to assure that one religious tradition did not receive preferential treatment over others.
• The founders of our nation meant for the free exercise of religion to contribute to tolerance and pluralism in our country.
• People of faith were expected help formulate public policy.
• What was prohibited was an institutional identification of Church and state.
• The founders did not intend to build an impenetrable wall separating people of faith from public discourse.

But that still leaves open the question of how the Church is to be involved in the public square. What is the Church's proper role?

In Faithful Citizenship the bishops name a key asset that the Church brings to the public square, a consistent moral framework.

Built on the foundation of the scriptures and the living tradition of the Church, Catholic social teaching provides a consistent and compelling moral framework. In the words of the Bishops, "We are convinced that a consistent ethic of life should be the moral framework from which to address issues in the political arena."

Our Holy Father in his encyclical on "The Gospel of Life" describes this consistent moral framework with these words:

"Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good."

Let me hasten to add that the consistency of our moral framework does not mean that all issues are of equal moral weight, but it is to say that our witness on any one issue is strengthened and given greater credibility by our consistency on other issues.

The U.S. bishops identify at least six public roles for the Church in Faithful Citizenship:

1. Tto educate Catholics about our social teaching;
2. To highlight the moral dimensions of public policy issues;
3. To participate in debates on matters affecting the common good;
4. To witness to the Gospel through our services and ministries;
5. To form the consciences of Catholics in light of their faith; and
6. To encourage active political participation, including: organizing non-partisan voter registration drives, providing non-partisan voter education, and engaging parishioners in ongoing legislative networks.

Vatican Council II taught: "By its nature and mission the Church is universal in that it is not committed to any … political, economic or social system."

The Vatican's "Doctrinal Note" recently reaffirmed this teaching:

[The Church] "does not wish to exercise political power or eliminate the freedom of opinion of Catholics regarding contingent questions. Instead, it intends…to instruct and illuminate the consciences of the faithful … so that their actions may always serve the integral promotion of the human person and the common good."

The Vatican went on to affirm two things that exist in a kind of creative tension with one another—the call for Catholics to oppose laws that are counter of our basic principles, AND the call not to isolate one issue from others.

On the one hand the Doctrinal Note admonished Catholic politicians with this challenge:

"[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."

On the other hand, the Vatican goes on to say:

"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."

What does this teaching mean today as our national elections approach?

I believe it means that we can never fail to weigh carefully the foundational issues of human life AND we cannot isolate any one life issue from the whole web of other human life issues.

We must remember that voting in elections is an imperfect act in an imperfect world. As such it requires prudential judgments, which take into account social and political realities, but are informed by the principles of our faith.

In the Doctrinal Note, the Vatican clearly states:

"Christian faith has never presumed to impose a rigid framework on social and political questions, conscious that the historical dimension requires men and women to live in imperfect situations, which are … susceptible to rapid change."

Similarly, the U.S. bishops chart a role for the Church that focuses on principles and issues, and leaves prudential decisions about voting to individual citizens. In Faithful Citizenship they write:

"As bishops, we seek to form the consciences of our people.

We do not wish to instruct persons on how they should vote by endorsing or opposing candidates.

We hope that voters will examine the position of candidates on the full range of issues, as well as on their personal integrity, philosophy, and performance.

We are convinced that a consistent ethic of life should be the moral framework from which to address issues in the political arena."

They go on to acknowledge that "Decisions about candidates and choices about public policies require clear commitment to moral principles, careful discernment and prudential judgments based on the values of our faith."

All of this means that the Church's proper role is to focus on principles and issues, not candidates nor parties. The Church remains nonpartisan because no political candidate or party can perfectly embody the values of God's realm of justice and peace.

• We need to remember that Jesus is not running for public office.
• In voting we are always making imperfect choices, but those choices remain pregnant with moral demands.

The Church also remains nonpartisan because, as we noted earlier, people of good will, while holding the same principles, may legitimately disagree over the particular way to act on complex social questions.

The Church avoids partisan activities for both theological and practical reasons.

Theologically, it wants to be sure that God's reign is not identified with any political party, platform or candidate. Such identification would compromise the Church, crippling its ability to be a prophetic social critic and defender of the poor and the vulnerable.

For more pragmatic reasons, the Church avoids partisanship in accordance with the requirements of its tax exempt status.

But it is important to distinguish how the Church as an institution is engaged in the political process from how individual church members are involved.

• The Church articulates its social teaching and applies it to pressing issues.
• It also helps form the consciences of individual Catholics on the principles of our faith and their application issues, but it does not tell them how to vote.

Individual Catholics, however, are free to run for public office, participate in political parties, and vote. In fact, it is their responsibility as people of faith to be active and informed citizens. They have the often agonizing task of weighing the candidates' positions, character and performance, and also discerning what is politically possible, in casting their ballots.

II. What are the principles upon which the Church's involvement in society is based and the specific issues of concern to the Church in this election year?

The Church's teaching on political responsibility rests upon its social teaching.

This teaching is summarized by the U.S. bishops in seven themes that capture its essence with broad strokes:

1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person

• All persons are created in the image of God. Every human person is sacred.
• Every social public policy must be judged in light of whether it protects or undermines the life and dignity of the human person.

2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

• Humans are not only sacred, we are social. We are created in the image of a Trinitarian God, a unity of persons; we are destined for covenant with one another and with our God.
• The family is the basic cell of society; it demands social support.
• All persons must have access to the social institutions of society; we have this right to participate because through social participation we meet our basic human needs and develop our human potential.
• Government has unique the role of insuring the participation of all, especially of the poor and the vulnerable. It is the task of government to pursue the common good, i.e. to foster those social conditions that allow families and individuals to prosper and develop.
  

• As sacred and social beings, we have basic rights and responsibilities.
• The right to life is foundational because it is the pre-condition for exercising all other rights. This right to life includes the rights to food, clothing, shelter, rest medical care and essential social services-of all that is necessary to sustain human life.
           We have the corresponding responsibility to defend the right to life of others and to ensure that their basic needs are met.
• We also have the right to an education and to work, and have the corresponding responsibilities to develop ourselves, to support our families and to contribute to the common good, as we are able.
• We also have religious and cultural rights, including the right to freedom of conscience and religious expression, and the corresponding responsibility to recognize the religious and cultural rights of others.
  

4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

• The human rights of the poor and the vulnerable are most at risk in any society; therefore, they have the first claim on limited resources and on the consciences of a nation.
• The measure of the justice of any society is how the poor and vulnerable are faring. We have a social responsibility to defend their rights and promote their welfare.

5. Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

• The economic market exists for people; people do not exist for the market. Labor has a priority over capital.
• Workers have a right to decent work, a living wage, and to safe working conditions. They have a right to organize and join unions to protect their rights. And they have the responsibility to contribute to the common good through honest work.
• All persons also have a right to economic initiative as an expression of human freedom and to private property in as much as both serve the common good of the community.
  

6. Solidarity

• We are all children of a loving God. We are one human family.
• Solidarity expresses the Church's concern for international development and world peace.
  • International development is an urgent need in a world marred by growing gaps between the rich and the poor.
  • World peace is an urgent challenge in a world scarred by terrorism, violence and war.
    

7. Caring for God's Creation

• We are stewards of God's creation. Creation is good and we are charged with its care.
• Symbolically our faith tells us that we are created from the clay of the earth. We are "earthlings." What we do to the earth we ultimately do to ourselves. Preserving God's creation simultaneously protects human life and dignity.A concern for ecology does not lead us away from a concern for human life, it leads us to it. Ecology is a moral issue; it is also an issue of human life.

These seven themes form a coherent pattern, a consistent theological framework. This social teaching is a rich treasure that the Church has to offer the world.

III. What are the issues of concern to the Church in this election year?

Now we are finally ready to get to the issues.

In the Faithful Citizenship, the bishops explore a wide range of concerns:

• from abortion to arms control,
• from family life to aiding poor families,
• from economic justice to ecology, and
• from global poverty to global conflicts.

The bishops weave a tapestry of rich hues in their description of "Moral Priorities for Public Life." They caution that these brief summaries do not capture the breadth or depth of their positions on the issues.

We need to remember that Faithful Citizenship is the "cliff's notes" version of Catholic social teaching and the issues that face us as a nation today. You can find the full text of the Faithful Citizenship statement and most of the referenced materials on their website: www.usccb.org.

Under the category of "Protecting Human Life," the bishops declare as always "wrong" direct threats to human life in our day that include: abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, cloning, destruction of embryos, and the intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks.

They make the judgment that abortion and euthanasia are "preeminent threats" to human life in our nation today.

They also support positive efforts to protect human life that include: the promotion of childbirth and adoption over abortion, assistance to pregnant women and children to reduce pressures that lead to abortions, and support for palliative care for the dying to reduce pressures that lead to assisted suicide.

To protect human life, they call on our nation to avoid war and raise serious questions about the use of preventive military force.

• The bishops urge the erection of barriers to the use of nuclear weapons and call for their eventual elimination.
• They urge adoption of the anti-personnel landmine treaty to ban these indiscriminate weapons.
• They call on our nation to curb of the global arms trade that fuels violent conflict around the world.

Echoing the teaching of Pope John Paul II they ask the nation to abandon the use of capital punishment.

Based on these issues alone, it is clear that the Church's teaching is neither liberal nor conservative; it seeks rather to be faithful. In my experience, our teaching has something to challenge everyone! And that is exacting the nature of the Gospel. It is a two edged sword, cutting both left and right!

Next the bishops turn to "Promoting Family Life."

They defend the definition of marriage to protect the basic cell of society, the family.

They go on to support public policies that will strengthen family life, including: just wages, aid to poor families, policies to protect children, and the right of parents to choose the education best suited for their children (including private and religious schools).

The bishops call for the proper regulation of the communications media to avoid the distortions that come from concentrated media ownership and to help parents protect their children from violence and pornography.

Under the category of "Pursuing Social Justice" the bishops tackle a number of issues to protect the life and dignity of the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society.

They insist on economic justice that creates jobs for all who can work and provides living wages for all who do work.

They decry discrimination in employment practices and affirm the right of workers to choose to organize a union to protect their rights.

They affirm economic initiative and the right to private property, not as ends in themselves, but as "tools and resources" necessary to "pursue the common good."

They tackle the issue of poverty in the richest nation on earth and remind us that the goal of welfare reform ought to be to reduce the number of children living in poverty, not to reduce simply the welfare roles.

The bishops call adoption of fully refundable child tax credits to help working poor families raising children.

They defend the role for faith-based groups as partners with, not substitutes for, government initiatives.

The bishops support strengthening Social Security and providing affordable and accessible health care and housing to all.

The bishops call for food security in the conviction that no one should face hunger in this land of plenty, and they promote the concerns of farmers and farm workers, and the need for sustainable agriculture.

The bishops support the rights of immigrants and call on our nation to address the root causes of migration. They call for the protection of refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking.

The bishops support quality education, public, private and religious.

They call on the nation to address the culture of violence through reduction of violence in the media, reasonable restrictions on weapons, abolition of the death penalty, and reform of criminal justice system to promote responsibility and rehabilitation.

The bishops also call on society to continue combating discrimination and support judiciously administered affirmative action programs.

Rounding out their concerns for "pursing social justice" is the affirmation of the environment as a "moral issue." They name as concerns: energy conservation, clean and renewal energy sources, global climate change, and sustainable development.

Our faith does not allow the bishops, or us, to confine our concerns to national ones. They conclude their brief survey of issues with those related to "Practicing Global Solidarity."

To whom much is given, much will be required. As the world's leading superpower, our nation has special obligations.

The bishops call upon the United States to address the scandal of global poverty and underdevelopment and to humanize globalization so that it benefits all, especially the poor and the vulnerable.

They declare that the United States is in a unique position to:

• alleviate global poverty;
• promote religious liberty; and
• reverse the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

The bishops argue that the United States has moral obligations:

• to support the United Nations, international bodies and international law;
• to protect persons fleeing persecution; and
• to adopt a generous immigration and refugee policy.

The bishops maintain that our country should be a leader, in working with the international community, to address regional conflicts in the Middle East, the Balkans, the Congo, Sudan, Colombia and West Africa.

They identify the Israeli-Palestinian as an urgent priority, and call for the United States to work with the international community to bring stability and freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan.

IV. What are the questions that Catholics should ponder prior to the election?

As you can see, Faithful Citizenship summarizes a complex and demanding political agenda.

The Church's social agenda cuts across ideological, political and national boundaries.

Here are some questions that our Bishops ask us to ponder:

1. After September 11, how can we build not only a safer world, but a better world--more just, more secure, more peaceful, more respectful of human life and dignity?
2. How will we protect the weakest in our midst--innocent unborn children? How will our nation resist what Pope John Paul II calls a "culture of death"? How can we keep our nation from turning to violence to solve some of its most difficult problems--abortion to deal with difficult pregnancies; the death penalty to combat crime; euthanasia and assisted suicide to deal with the burdens of age, illness, and disability; and war to address international disputes?
3. How will we address the tragic fact that more than 30,000 children die every day as a result of hunger, international debt, and lack of development around the world, as well as the fact that the younger you are, the more likely you are to be poor here in the richest nation on Earth?
4. How can our nation help parents raise their children with respect for life, sound moral values, a sense of hope, and an ethic of stewardship and responsibility? How can our society defend the central institution of marriage and better support families in their moral roles and responsibilities, offering them real choices and financial resources to obtain quality education and decent housing?
5. How will we address the growing number of families and individuals without affordable and accessible health care? How can health care better protect human life and respect human dignity?
6. How will our society combat continuing prejudice, overcome hostility toward immigrants and refugees, and heal the wounds of racism, religious bigotry, and other forms of discrimination?
7. How will our nation pursue the values of justice and peace in a world where injustice is common, desperate poverty widespread, and peace is too often overwhelmed by violence?
8. What are the responsibilities and limitations of families, community organizations, markets, and government? How can these elements of society work together to overcome poverty, pursue the common good, care for creation, and overcome injustice?
9. When should our nation use, or avoid the use of, military force--for what purpose, under what authority, and at what human cost?
10. How can we join with other nations to lead the world to greater respect for human life and dignity, religious freedom and democracy, economic justice, and care for God's creation?

We also need to ask ourselves some prudential questions, including:

• Are certain issues of particular importance today?
• What is the candidate's position on the issues?
• What's my assessment of his/her personal integrity?
• What has the candidate's past performance been on these issues?
• Can he/she affect the policy?
• Is there sufficient political/public support for him/her to make a difference on the issue?
• And there are many other practical political judgments that need to be made.

Finally, we need to remember that Faithful Citizenship is more than voting; it is more than what happens during elections.

Faithful Citizenship is more than voting because we are more than voters. Voting does not exhaust our contribution to the common good of the political order.In our roles as parents, workers, employers, union members, professionals, business owner, community and neighborhood leaders, legislative advocates, party leaders, and public servants we can help shape our society.We need to hold our elected officials accountable, especially after the voting is over, and particularly if we voted for someone with whom we disagree on some issues.

I say this to put things in perspective. Elections are important, but they are not the sum total of political engagement.

But this year we stand in the midst of a national election. So we have a special obligation to make the imperfect, prudential decision about how to caste our votes.

Some would say that we are at a decisive moment in human history or at a crossroads in our nation's history, and perhaps we are. But I like to remind people we have faced similar moments in the past.I believe that we need to assure ourselves that in the decisive moment of human history, God acted on our behalf. Jesus lived, died and rose for us. We need not fear the future. Our electoral decisions are important, but we need to put this important responsibility in perspective. God's realm lies within and beyond our human efforts. I take comfort in that fact.

In light of the contingent nature of politics, each of us should strive to be faithful to the teaching and respectful of others in discussing issues.

The Second Vatican Council taught:

"Often enough the Christian view of things will itself suggest some specific solution in certain circumstances. Yet it happens rather frequently, and legitimately so, that with equal sincerity some of the faithful will disagree with others on a given matter."

In these situations, the Council offered this guidance:

"Hence it is necessary for people to remember that no one is allowed in the aforementioned situations to appropriate the Church's authority for his opinion. They should always try to enlighten one another through honest discussion, preserving mutual charity and caring above all for the common good."

Conclusion:

As I mentioned at the beginning of my talk, all too often modern political campaigns degenerate into sound bites attacking the opposing candidate.

If we are able to engage the Church's teaching with clarity, integrity and civility, I believe that we will be able to create new possibilities in our polarized society.

We live in an imperfect world with imperfect choices. But choose we must.

Despite imperfect electoral choices, all Catholics can work from within society as leaven to reform political movements, in effect improving electoral choices for the future. Our bishops write:

"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 Church needs Democrats and Republicans who will work within their parties to stand with the unborn and the undocumented.

We need people in both parties who will oppose the violence of abortion and the vengeance of capital punishment.

We need people of conviction who will oppose assault weapons on our streets and condoms in our schools.

In a word, we need Democrats, Republicans and Independents who are first of all Catholics.