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August 31, 2008

Forming our conscienceWith the presidential election right around the corner, Catholics are called to evaluate candidates and policies through the lens of the Gospel

By Bob Gilligan

CONTRIBUTOR

Quick question —who is the President of the United States? That’s easy, right?

Okay, who are the two senators from Illinois? If you did not know that there are two, you are probably not going to get the next question correct.

Who is your U.S. congressman?

Now it gets harder—who is your state senator, your state representative? You might want to know because the level of government closest to you has the most impact on your daily life. If you have ever lived in a condominium with a homeowners association then you know what I am talking about.

Knowing our elected officials and the candidates is only a small part in fulfilling our duty to be a faithful citizen. Elections are not only about who is pursuing which office, elections are largely about issues. As Catholics we have a duty to be a faithful citizen by considering the issues from a Catholic perspective. To help guide Catholics in evaluating how issues intersect with Catholic social teaching, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a document called, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” (www.faithfulcitizenship.org).

While you may have answered most of the questions above about the President and Congress correctly, what do you know about how issues and our church teaching intersect? Here are some more questions to illustrate my point.

One of the big issues this year is U.S. military action in Iraq. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, did the President and Congress meet the criteria for just war principles discussed in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church? Could it be that the U.S. Supreme Court allows the termination of a life in the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy despite science and religious confirmation that life begins at conception? In our state, could it be true the primary caregivers of children—parents—do not have to be notified when their child undergoes an abortion, yet some school districts require parental consent in order to give their child an aspirin?

What do you know about Catholic social teaching on just war principles? How about the position of your local state representative and state senator regarding the first principle of Catholic social teaching pertaining to the life and dignity of the human person?

‘Politically homeless’

During this election season we will be hearing a lot about the positions of candidates. Deciding who to vote for and how to weigh these issues is difficult because Catholics truly are politically homeless in that neither major political party fully supports the teachings of our church.

So many issues: military action in Iraq, the challenges facing immigrants to our nation, the lack of affordable healthcare, the destruction of human life, the distortion of marriage. And, ironically, so many secular sources of information available in our information- crazed society, but the real challenge for us is how do we get the truth, to the heart of these pressing public policy issues? If you want to be told who to vote for, Faithful Citizenship won’t help, but if you are looking to fulfill your duty to be a faithful citizen by analyzing issues from a moral viewpoint, the document is a must-read.

Our duty to become a faithful citizen first requires the development of a well-formed conscience. Conscience, the bishops remind us, is not a mere “feeling” about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good, while shunning what is evil. We, as Catholics, have a life long obligation to form our conscience with our reason and the teachings of the church.

‘Embrace the truth’

A properly formed conscience requires several elements. The first is a desire to embrace the truth. Truth is found in the Scriptures and in the teachings of the Catholic Church. A well-formed conscience also requires an examination of the facts about various choices. Finally, prayerful reflection is essential to discern the will of God.

We often hear that pocketbook issues drive elections. Today, that usually means which candidate will be most effective at reducing the price of gas, addressing the rising cost of food and promoting job growth. These are legitimate concerns and deserve much consideration, but we are also called through faithful citizenship to look at what policies a candidate will support that will improve the sum total of conditions that allow all of us, those born and unborn, to achieve our full potential. It requires us to break out of the conventional thinking.

Breaking out of conventional thinking is often not popular, nor is it easy. Discussions about politics can be divisive and occasionally make others uncomfortable, but as Catholics we should pattern our behavior after our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At times pastoral, at times forceful, He spoke the truth which is increasingly difficult for anyone in our go-along to get-along society. Now it’s become our duty to stand our ground just like Christ did.

Speaking the truth about immigration, abortion, marriage and health care during those conversations at the water cooler or at the cocktail party isn’t easy, but it’s our duty.

And, there’s even more to do. Our duty to be a faithful citizen is more than deciding how to vote. Being a faithful citizen doesn’t end on Election Day; it may start there, but it is a lifelong commitment to work toward the common good.

Get involved

Many complain there are no good candidates to vote for, and this may be true. If that is the case — get involved and use your voice to change the situation. More complaining does nothing. Do something; try volunteering with a political party, find a local advocacy organization dedicated to a just cause — listen to your conscience. The more like-minded people who you can find to share your convictions, the sooner things will change.

Our duty to be faithful citizens is not easy. Being Catholic today is not easy. Altering society to reflect the truth and personify the values of Jesus Christ brought to the modern world is not easy, but it is our duty as faithful citizens.

Gilligan is director of the Catholic Conference of Ilinois.

Talk on Faithful Citizenship

Bishop John Manz, will share his reflections on the U.S. bishops’ document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” at 7 p.m., Sept. 11, St. Leonard Church, 3318 S. Clarence Ave., Berwyn.

There will be a voter registration opportunity as well as hospitality immediately after the event.

For questions or more information, call Mary Jaros at (708) 278-1726.

Bishops ask Catholics to pray election novena in Illinois

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops invites U.S. Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice and peace called Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is a podcast and available for download. Joan Rosenhauer, associate director for the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said that the special novena is part of “the bishops’ campaign to help Catholics develop well-formed consciences for addressing political and social questions.” The bishops issued their statement on forming consciences for faithful citizenship in November 2007.

The Novena for Faithful Citizenship runs for nine days, emphasizes the dignity of life, justice and peace and can be used consecutively, one day each week, for nine days prior to the election or “in any way that works best for a community or individual,” said Rosenhauer.

The novena will be available for download until the election and it can be downloaded online at www.faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts. For other materials visit www.faithfulcitizenship.org.