This Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. It is critical that each and every one of us exercise our right to vote. Exercising this right to vote is a serious duty and obligation of faithful citizenship which is required of all Catholics. It is especially important this year as we vote to elect our President. We vote because we are citizens. But we vote conscientiously because we are people of faith. Our consciences are formed through studying Scripture and the teachings of the Church, examination of the facts, and prayerful reflection. While there are many important moral issues that confront us today, not all issues of equal importance. No matter what you have read or have heard, it has been clear, consistent Catholic teaching that there are three fundamental, non-negotiable issues of the highest priority that must be considered as we make our decision for whom to vote. Catholics must protect and defend these critical realities as they lie at the core and foundation of who we are as believers in Jesus Christ and members of His Church and these issues must carry the most weight as we make our decisions.
Issues that directly destroy innocent human life—abortion and euthanasia—are pre-eminent priorities in Catholic life. Abortion is murder and as such is a grave evil. It is in direct opposition to the Catholic teaching and no Catholic in good standing can support abortion or abortion rights. As Pope St. John Paul II reminds us in Christifideles Laici, “the common outcry which is justly made on behalf of human rights… 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.” Catholics in good standing cannot support or condone abortion; we cannot support a political party or candidates who endorse abortion. This is the fundamental moral issue of our day.
Our Constitution heralds religious liberty in the First Amendment, yet increasingly people of faith are having to fight to retain this most basic right. Catholics have the right to practice their faith freely and without restraint. Sadly, anti-Catholic bigotry is acceptable and common among our political leaders, in the media and all around us. Catholic teaching is under attack in our nation today and many Catholics are being persecuted, even our churches and statues have been vandalized in recent months. Our right to practice our faith in freedom and integrity is of paramount importance in considering how we vote. How important that we vote to protect that precious gift of religious liberty and the freedom to practice our faith. It is time to stand up and push back on those who want to take away our most basic rights.
There is a move in the nation to redefine marriage and family in our secularized culture. The marriage of a man and a woman is the foundation of the Christian family and an essential core element of a flourishing society. This bond between a man and woman was designed by God – a natural sacrament – and no one has the right to change what marriage is or to destroy the family as the most basic and important cell of any community. And despite what others might say to us, Catholics are not bigots or prejudiced because we believe something that the majority in our country does not. We condemn discrimination, prejudice, racism, and hatred in all its forms, but we cannot be bullied into changing what we believe is God’s divinely revealed truth. We must vote to protect the sanctity of marriage, the beauty of family life, and for school choice which allows parents – not our government – the right to choose the best way to educate their children.
Of course, as Catholics we must work for peace and justice. We need to be concerned about helping the poor, welcoming immigrants and refugees, rejecting racism and prejudice, caring for the environment, defending our borders and nation for those who seek to harm us, and working for the common good. These concerns all flow from who we are as beloved children of God and members of the Church, the Body of Christ. But these concerns must always be rooted in our unwavering and total commitment to defend the sanctity of life, especially the unborn who have no voice of their own, from our commitment to protect religious freedom and liberty, and from our defense of marriage and the family.
PRAYER BEFORE AN ELECTION
Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community. We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters, one and equal in dignity, especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty. We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned, Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender. We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom. We pray for discernment so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word, live your love, and keep in the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.