AS ELECTION DAY APPROACHES

                Over the course of the past several months, our country has participated in many campaigns and debates to select the future leaders of our country. This is not an easy undertaking as we draw closer to the time where we must decide who will best represent us as the leaders of this country.

                As we all know there is no single candidate who represents all of our Catholic values. How do we exercise our right to vote when the candidates do not represent all of our beliefs? That is a question that we all face in preparing to fulfill our responsibility as American citizens when we approach our polling places to vote this year.

                Several years ago the Bishops of the United States addressed this dilemma in a document they published called Faithful Citizenship. We are both Catholics and Americans. It is our duty to fulfill our obligations both to God and country. The document Faithful Citizenship contains important principles of Catholic teaching that Catholics should consider before voting. Some of these include the dignity of the human person and the common good. We need to study carefully the issues facing us as voters and discern what is the most prudent course of action to take.

                It is for each of us as Catholics to form our conscience, to dialogue civilly with others, to make prudent decisions and to act working for the promotion of the Gospel and for the common good.

                As it is clear from the last several months, no one party or candidate represents all the Church’s teaching. We must look at all the issues, not only one or two. It is important to prioritize the issues since not all are equal.

                The world is increasingly complex. The global social, political and economic realities do not give way to simplistic answers. As Catholics we uphold the dignity of all, most especially the poorest and most vulnerable in our world. It is up to us to be as informed as possible when we go to vote. In the next couple of weeks we have the opportunity to reflect upon how best to exercise our right and privilege to influence the future direction of our country and world.