Please Vote

Intermountain Catholic

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First, a disclaimer: This is not an appeal for support for any particular political party, candidate or specific political issue. Rather, this is a request that you undertake your civic duty, learn about the issues and the candidates, and vote.

Engaging in the public square is one of the prerogatives of living in a democratic republic such as the United States. It also is one of our duties, and the Catholic Church encourages us to do it.

“Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church [1910, italics original.]

The Catechism goes on to say that “As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life” [1915, italics original] and that it is morally obligatory to exercise the right to vote. [2240]

As far as for whom to cast our ballots or what issues to support, the Catechism is mute except for noting the end goal: “It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidary, and freedom.” [2255]

This year we will be casting ballots for national, state and local leaders. Depending on where we live, our ballots also may contain various initiatives on an array of matters. Learning about these candidates and issues from valid sources, not just a sound bite or a social media post, is necessary in order to vote responsibly.

Even when informed about an issue or candidate, deciding how to cast your ballot can be confusing because it’s very rare to find something or someone to agree with completely. Quite often voters must, as Pope Francis recently said, “choose the lesser evil.”

For Catholics, one overriding concern when making these decisions is “the inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual,” as the Catechism [2273] puts it, emphasizing “every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception to natural death.”

This overarching concern has a corollary in Catholic teaching: that “the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society,” as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops phrases it on their website, and then gives a dozen quotations from the Old and New Testaments to back up their assertion.

Voting to protect “the dignity of the human person” covers a tremendous amount of ground. How will the candidate or the ballot measure affect those who are poor, the defenseless, the immigrant, those whose race or religion may be different from the majority? Will they advance the ways of peace, justice, solidarity, hope and charity? Will they promote good and oppose evil?

Recognizing that voting often involves complex matters, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a guide to help Catholics discern how to vote, with the caveat that they don’t give advice on what candidate to vote for. Rather, “it is the laity’s responsibility to form their consciences and grow in the virtue of prudence to approach the many and varied issues of the day with the mind of Christ,” as they write in the guide, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” which is available at https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/upload/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship.pdf.

I will end in the same way the bishops do in their guide’s introductory note: “May God bless you as you consider and pray over these challenging decisions. May God bless our nation with true wisdom, peace, and mutual forgiveness, that we may decide together, through our democratic processes, to uphold the dignity of life and the common good.”

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. Reach her at marie@icatholic.org.