"Let us look to the example of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ parable summons us to rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond. This summons is ever new, yet it is grounded in a fundamental law of our being: we are called to direct society to the pursuit of the common good and, with this purpose in mind, to persevere in consolidating its political and social order, its fabric of relations, its human goals."
Allowing your conscience to be stretched and formed by these reflections can give you peace! They point to Jesus’ challenge to show mercy to those in need, just as the Good Samaritan. As Pope Francis writes, “Here, all our distinctions, labels and masks fall away: it is the moment of truth. Will we bend down to touch and heal the wounds of others?” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 70.) Let this be in our hearts when we talk about politics and make political choices.
In this video, we dive into the "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" document, where we explore the essential framework of the 4 pillars: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. These guiding principles help Catholics navigate political and social life with a well-formed conscience. Learn how these pillars provide the moral foundation for faithful citizenship and guide us in shaping a just society.
...how we promote good and oppose evil is an essential part …of being a disciple. As St. Paul reminds us (Eph. 4:29-32): • Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them. • Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind. • In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.
The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone. Other grave threats to the life and dignity of the human person include euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, and human.
While the bishops help form the laity in accordance with basic principles, they do not tell the laity to vote for particular candidates. On these often complex matters, 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. Conscience is "a judgment of reason" by which one determines whether an action is right or wrong (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1778).
Pope Francis exhorts us to “genuine dialogue and openness to others,” by which we may “be frank and open about our beliefs, while continuing to discuss, to seek points of contact, and above all, to work and struggle together” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 203). This applies to the faithful both as voters and as candidates—we must consider not only candidates’ positions on these issues, but their character and integrity as well.
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.
Conscience—properly formed according to God’s revelation and the teaching of the Church—is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth.1 The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only judge using the conscience we have, but our judgments do not make things true. It is our responsibility to learn more of Catholic teaching and tradition, to participate in Church life, to learn from trustworthy sources about the issues facing our communities, and to do our best to make wise judgments about candidates and government actions.
In this fight for justice, God gives us a special gift, hope, which Pope Benedict describes in Caritas in Veritate as "burst[ing] into our lives as something not due to us, something that transcends every law of justice" (no. 34). Thus we take up the task of serving the common good with joy and hope, confident that God, who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son," walks with us and strengthens us on the way (Jn 3:16).
Our national tradition of religious freedom permits and encourages all people of faith to bring the insights of their religious traditions to bear on political matters.
As Pope Francis affirmed during his visit to the U.S., “Religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families….
Religion itself, the religious dimension, is not a subculture; it is part of the culture of every people and every nation.
The Role of the Church in American Political Life • The Church is the body of Christ, • Christ reigns as king reigns over all Creation. • Here, ‘the creation’ refers to every aspect of human life….. • Everything, including political life, belongs to Jesus Christ, and so participation in political life belongs to the mission of the Church. • Our mandate is to ‘go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation’ (Mk 16:15)…. Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 181
If society is to have a future, it must respect the truth of our human dignity and submit to that truth. A society is noble and decent …for its support of the pursuit of truth and its adherence to the most basic of truths” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 207). “The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only jud ge using the conscience we have, but our individual judgments do not make things true.” We have a duty to form our conscience.
The bishops and their pastoral collaborators each have distinct roles in the Church’s mission. The bishops have the responsibility to: 1. Govern the society of the Church 2. Hand on doctrine and tradition 3. Administer the sacraments The laity are called to: Bring the gospel to bear on the world. It remains primarily the role of the laity to advocate for justice, to serve in public office, and to inform daily life with the gospel. “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society…” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 29).
Participation in political life requires judgments about concrete circumstances. • While bishops together with their coworkers help form the laity in accordance with basic principles, • they do not tell the laity to vote for particular candidates. • On these often complex matters, 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.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph number 1778, says • Conscience is "a judgment of reason" by which one determines whether an action is right or wrong. It does not allow us to justity doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere "feeling." • Conscience is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth. • Conscience is properly formed according to : God greeching of the Church.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1778:
Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law.
Vote Catholic: Forming Conscience for Active Citizenship When the Conscience is fully formed, we are equipped, and further driven by our sense of patriotism, to exercise our right and duty to vote and otherwise to participate actively in public life. By forming our consciences for faithful citizenship: -We can better pursue the common good -And thus obey the command of our Lord to love our neighbors.
Because each human person is created in the image and likeness of God, each one of us possesses an innate human dignity, which no one can violate. • This dignity is present in each person from the moment of their conception and throughout their lives. • As Pope Francis has emphasized, human dignity is central to building a society in which we are all “brothers and sisters.”
Every human being has the right to live with dignity and to develop integrally; this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country.
• People have this right even if they are unproductive or were born with or developed limitations. This does not take away from their great dignity as human persons, it is a dignity based on the intrinsic worth of their being.
• Unless this basic principle is upheld, there will be no future either for fraternity or for the survival of humanity. Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, no. 107
The dignity of the human person is the foundation for a moral vision of society. • As we seek to imitate the Good Samaritan and become neighbors to all, we must work to protect the dignity of all, especially those who are most vulnerable. • We work to protect the most vulnerable—children in the womb who are in danger of abortion—while also standing in radical solidarity with mothers. • The Church actively assists mothers and their children to have a brighter future.
The dignity of the human person is the foundation for a moral vision of society. • We continue to protect the dignity of our sisters and brothers who are elderly, disabled, or ill by strongly rejecting euthanasia and assisted suicide. • These practices are symptoms of a “throwaway culture,” where children of God, each of inestimable worth, are cast aside as worthless.
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