AUSCP: Catholic Social Teaching Should Guide Catholic Voters
June 16, 2020 • For immediate release
The Association of United States Catholic Priests and Friends encourages dialogue, contemplation, and prophetic action. We live this through striving to be a pastoral voice of compassion, hope, and joy. We are called to “serve, not be served.”
2020 is an election year. With the lens of Covid 19 capturing our attention, it is critical to look through this lens to the November election. We are in a fragmented world, nation, state, city, rural area.
How do we dialogue about immigration, racism, sexism, the inequality of the rich and the ever growing poor and the lack of Covid 19 testing for all persons regardless of neighborhood? How do we claim this in our congregations, here and now?
In “Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship”, our Bishops stated, “Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well- formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods.”
As we look at our society, racism(white privilege), sexism, immigration, climate control, Covid 19 testing availability in all neighborhoods are all violations of human respect and dignity leading to abuse of government authority and public violence. We cannot ignore these realities, in significance, focusing exclusively on the abortion issue. Yes, these are uncomfortable truths.
Being pro life includes much more than disapproving abortion. Pro life includes all the violations of human dignity and respect stated in the previous paragraph.
We need to dialogue with each other. We need to discern, reflect, and choose what is right, not covering up injustices because it is difficult to discuss them.
DO NOT BE AFRAID to confront reality and vote to bring our country leadership that reflects our faith. Society will never be perfect. We are called in our society bringing to bear all of Jesus’ values.