Political Responsibility

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Political Responsibility

Called to Faithful Citizenship

(A summary of Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium, a Statement on Political Responsibility by the Administrative Board of the U.S. Catholic Bishops. The complete document can be obtained by contacting the Nebraska Catholic Conference at nebrcc@neb.rr.com or via the U.S. Catholic Conference website: www.usccb.org )

Introduction

The year 2000 marks a great spiritual milestone and offers an important civic challenge. The new millennium requires a new kind of politics, focused more on moral principles than on the latest polls; more on the needs of the poor and vulnerable than the contributions of the rich and powerful; more on the pursuit of the common good than the demands of special interests. This is a time to bring together the guidance of the Gospel and the opportunities of our democracy to shape a society more respectful of human life and dignity, and more committed to justice and peace.

We hope the campaigns and elections of the year 2000 become turning points in our democracy, leading to more participation and less cynicism, more civil dialogue on fundamental issues and less partisan posturing and attack ads.

The Role of the Church

As bishops, we do not seek the formation of a religious voting bloc, nor do we instruct persons on how they should vote by endorsing or opposing parties or candidates. We are convinced that a consistent ethic of life should be the moral framework from which to address all issues in the political arena. We hope that voters will examine the positions of candidates on the full range of issues, as well as on their personal integrity, philosophy, and performance.

A Call to Faithful Citizenship

As members of the Catholic community, we enter the public forum to act on our moral convictions, share our experience in serving the poor and vulnerable, and add our values to the dialogue over our nation's future. Our moral framework does not fit the categories of right or left, Democrat or Republican. Our responsibility is to measure every party and platform by how its agenda touches human life and dignity. In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue; participation in the political process is a moral obligation.

Catholic Assets in the Public Square

The Catholic community brings to the public life the insights of the Scriptures and Catholic teaching, broad experience in serving those in need, and a large diverse community. We are called to be a community of consciences within the larger society. As Catholics, our conscience will not permit us to abandon unborn children because they are seen as unwanted or inconvenient, to turn our backs on immigrants because they lack the proper documents, or to turn away from poor women and children because they lack economic or political power.

Moral Priorities for Public Life

Protecting Human Life

Each human life, called into existence by God, is sacred. For this reason we have a responsibility to defend human life at every stage and in every condition. Abortion and euthanasia are morally wrong because they attack life itself, the most fundamental good and the condition for all others. We support constitutional protection for unborn human life and legislative efforts to oppose abortion and euthanasia. We support laws and programs that promote childbirth and adoption over abortion, and those that provide aid to people who are sick or dying. War, genocide, and starvation threaten the lives of millions throughout the world. Direct and intentional attacks on civilians are never morally acceptable. We support programs and policies that promote peace, arms control, and sustainable development for the world's poor.

Promoting Family Life

The God-given institutions of marriage and the family are central and serve as the foundations for social life. Marriage provides the basic foundation for family life and needs to be protected. Tax, workplace, divorce, and welfare policies must be designed to help families stay together and to reward responsibility and sacrifice for children. It is important that just wages be paid to those who work to support their families.

Pursuing Social Justice

Scripture and the Church's teaching call on all of us to embrace God's preferential love of the poor and vulnerable, to embody it in our lives, and to work to have it shape public policies and priorities. We support those policies that create jobs with adequate pay and decent working conditions, increase the minimum wage so it becomes a living wage, and overcome barriers to equal pay and employment for women and minorities. We reaffirm traditional teaching on the right of workers to choose to organize and bargain collectively, on the importance of economic freedom, initiative, and the right to private property.

Financial assistance for poor families and children must enhance their lives and dignity. We must seek to reduce poverty and dependency, not simply cut resources and programs. Any proposal to change Social Security must provide a decent and reliable income for low- and average-wage workers and those who depend on them. We support health care that is affordable and accessible to all, including those suffering from HIV/AIDS and addiction. We also support the national pledge of "safe and affordable housing" for all. No one should face hunger in a land of plenty. Those who grow our food--farmers and farm workers--should be able to make a decent living and maintain their ways of life.

The education of children is a fundamental parental responsibility. All parents--the first, most important educators--should have the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including private and religious schools. We support adequate funding to educate all children, no matter what school they attend or their personal condition.

Our society must combat discrimination based on sex, race, religion, ethnicity, or age. Where the effects of past discrimination persist, society has the obligation to take positive steps to overcome the legacy of injustice, including fairly administered affirmative action programs.

Our society must address the growing culture of violence by advocating a greater sense of moral responsibility, a reduction in violence in the media, support for gun safety measures, and reasonable restriction on access to assault weapons and handguns--as well as opposition to the death penalty.

Practicing Global Solidarity

The United States has a responsibility to help the poor and vulnerable, promote global economic prosperity and sustainable environmental practices, foster stable and peaceful relations among nations, and uphold human rights. Specifically, we urge the United States to pursue debt relief and support foreign aid programs that provide new economic opportunities for the poor without promoting coercive population control policies. Efforts must be made to promote religious liberty and other basic human rights. Financial support should be provided for the U.N. and other international institutions, and for peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts in response to regional conflicts. Policies must be developed that provide protection for refugees and a welcoming atmosphere for immigrants in our communities.

Conclusion

The call to faithful citizenship raises a fundamental question: What does it mean to be a believer and a citizen in the year 2000 and beyond? As Catholics, we can recommit ourselves to carry the values of the Gospel and church teaching into the public square. As Citizens, we can vote and participate in the debate over the values and leaders that will take us into the next century. The dual calling of faith and citizenship is at the heart of what it means to be a Catholic in the United States at the beginning of a new millennium.

Primary Election Candidate Surveys

Questions for the Campaign

1 How will be protect the weakest in our midst--innocent, unborn children?

2 How will we overcome the scandal of a quarter of our preschoolers living in poverty in the best nation on earth?

3 How will we address the tragedy of 35.000 children dying every day of the consequences of hunger, debt, and lack of development around the world?

4 How can our nation help parents raise their children with respect for life, sound moral values, a sense of hope, and an ethic of stewardship and responsibility?

5 How can society better support families in their moral roles and responsibilities, offering them real choices and financial resources to obtain quality education and decent housing?

6 How will we address the growing number of families and individuals without affordable and accessible health care? How can health care protect and enhance human life and dignity?

7 How will our society best combat continuing prejudice, bias, and discrimination, overcome hostility toward immigrants and refugees, and heal the wounds of racism, religious bigotry, and other forms of discrimination?

8 How will our nation pursue the values of justice and peace in a world where injustice is common, destitution is widespread, and peace is too often overwhelmed by warfare and violence?

9 What are the responsibilities and limitations of families, voluntary organizations, markets, and government? How can these elements of society work together to overcome poverty, pursue the common good, care for creation, and overcome injustice?

10 How will our nation resist what Pope John Paul II calls a growing "culture of death"? Why does it seem that our nation is turning to violence to solve some of its most difficult problems--to abortion to deal with difficult pregnancies, to the death penalty to combat crime, to euthanasia and assisted suicide to deal with the burdens of age and illness?

Faithful Citizenship Links: For information on the following, simply click:

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

Summary of the Faithful Citizenship Document

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