Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper

Editorial

On ‘faithful citizenship’
current editorial

In these days when passions are at their highest, there is the danger that teachings of our faith can be distorted for political purposes.

The church calls all to “faithful citizenship,” a term used by the bishops of the United States to describe our civic duties as Catholics. The church has a God-given responsibility to teach the truths of faith. Faithful citizenship demands that people know the truths of their faith and apply them in the exercise of who they are as citizens, including how they cast their votes. Faithful citizenship means that people of faith cannot ignore politics.

Understood in this teaching on faithful citizenship is the requirement that we see our world through the eyes of faith and not massage the principles of faith to match our political presumptions. Too often, recently, we have read or seen where the church’s teaching on faithful citizenship is ironically invoked to downplay and even ignore fundamental church teaching.

As Bishop David Zubik writes in his Page 1 letter this week, “The primary theme of faithful citizenship is the right to life and the dignity of every human person. As the United States bishops made clear, this is the foundation of a moral vision for society. We cannot dismiss this foundational principle as secondary in our thinking. As the bishops insist, we cannot consider abortion or euthanasia as merely two issues among many to be weighed or dismissed with a shrug. Nor can we exclude other issues that are also pro-life: concerns about the poor and immigrants, concerns about peace and just war, concerns about bigotry and prejudice, concerns about capital punishment and other social issues.”

These aren’t incidental bromides. They define who we are and how we act in the name of Jesus every single day. Even worse still is to twist the bishops’ teaching on faithful citizenship to give a moral equivalency to pro-choice and pro-life stands. This is not only a grave disservice to so many who have dedicated their lives to defending human life at every stage, but also a complete contradiction to the bishops’ clear intent in their collective teaching. By no possible stretch or semantic haggling can the term “pro-choice,” as understood in today’s social and political lexicon, be compatible with Catholic thought.

While the church is outspoken in her teaching on faithful citizenship, at the same time the church does not endorse specific candidates or particular political parties, nor tell its members how to vote. The Catholic Church applies the truths of the faith to the moral issues of our society. It does not select or propose which candidates might best meet those standards. That is the duty of each Catholic voter.

Yet, too often we find that there are those publicly identified with the church — or who identify themselves publicly with the church — who make specific or implied endorsements of candidates. This can create the impression that one candidate has the backing of the church over another.

It is important for all of us to remember that when Catholic individuals — lay, religious or clergy — make statements about, or endorsements of, political candidates, they represent only themselves. They do not represent the Catholic Church.

In the heat of political combat, some have argued that abortion is a “lost cause” that can be dismissed from practical consideration. But for an alleged “lost cause,” abortion surely remains a critical issue. Abortion is in the social and political forefront decades after it was thrust upon us in an exercise of “raw judicial power” by the Supreme Court. If there is a lost cause, it would be those who argued that the issue would just disappear after the Supreme Court rulings in 1973.

We know that our efforts on behalf of the poor will not eradicate poverty today; we know that our efforts to end prejudice will not eradicate racism today; we know that our efforts to put a stop to war will never eradicate war completely today. But our faith demands that we never stop fighting evil and that we always support what is right. We continue in our social justice and pro-life efforts because we live in hope that these things will be accomplished. If not today, then tomorrow.

Faithful citizenship requires that we be involved in political life so we can apply the truths of our faith to the problems and opportunities of our world. Be active. Be engaged. Be passionate. Be a voter. It is not just our right as citizens; it is our obligation as believers.