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Faithful Citizenship is the mindful consideration of public policy and voting issues through the lens of the Church’s teaching. It is also a call to become involved with legislative policy and to exercise the right to vote, so as to protect human life, uphold human dignity, and promote the common good.
OUR LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THE EUCHARIST
FORMING OUR CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE
The National Eucharistic Revival calls and leads us to the very source of our strength, Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist.
As faithful citizens, who participate in the election process, we bear witness to Christ’s Paschal Mystery when our votes are guided by a well-formed Catholic conscience.
In this way our votes contribute to the building of a culture of life and civilization of love in keeping with human dignity.
By forming a well-formed Catholic conscience means that we have to "put on Christ" when we vote.
We therefore, become ambassadors of Christ's love and hold to the principles of the moral laws of God along with the teachings of the Church.
DID YOU KNOW?
"Did you know..." offers information to assist in forming our Catholic conscience and evaluating critical issues in accordance with Church Teaching.
VOTING WITH A WELL-FORMED CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE
Did you know…That as Catholics we are to follow a well-formed conscience when voting?
The key is that the individual conscience must be well-formed. For Catholics, conscience presupposes some knowledge of a higher moral law. This higher or divine law comes to us from Scripture, Church Teaching, and Natural Law. There is to be no separation between one's faith and life in either public or private realms. All Catholics should act on their beliefs with a well-formed conscience based on Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Participation in the political process is a moral obligation. This is particularly urgent in light of the need to defend the dignity of human life, marriage, and family in an era when these institutions are under attack from social ideologies and political agendas.
HUMAN LIFE & DIGNITY
Did you know…Abortion and euthanasia are preeminent threats to human life and dignity because they directly attack life itself [Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (FCFC 64)]?
Did you know…The Gospel mandate to “welcome the stranger” requires Catholics to care for and stand with newcomers, authorized and unauthorized, including unaccompanied immigrant children, refugees and asylum-seekers, those unnecessarily detained, and victims of human trafficking (FCFC 81)?
Did you know...That the Dignity of the Human Person is the foundation for a Catholic perspective on all moral and social issues? The Church ardently urges that respect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances be placed at the center of the commitment to the common good and at the center of every legal system. Indeed, respect for the dignity of each person is the indispensable basis for the existence of any society that claims to be founded on just law and not on the force of power. Acknowledging human dignity forms the basis for upholding fundamental human rights, which precede and ground all civic coexistence (“Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity 64).
Did you know...That the Church has clear teaching on Invitro Fertilization? Invitro Fertilization (IVF) is morally unacceptable (CCC 2337) because it disassociates the sexual act from the procreative act. Even so, the child conceived through IVF is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses the same inherent dignity of every other Human Person. For a clear explanation of IVF and its moral implications in relation to Church teaching refer to Catholic Vote Explainer: IVF.
THE ECONOMY, FAMILY LIFE AND THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Did you know... The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy?
In our society, is it more true that "the economy exists for the person" or that "the person exists for the economy"? Why? Which perspective better respects our God - given dignity as human persons?
Did you know... All economic life should be shaped by moral principles? Economic choices and institutions must be judged by how they protect or undermine the life and dignity of the human person, support the family and serve the common good.
What would a world look like in which the common good of all is recognized? What can we do to promote the common good during difficult times?
Did you know... All people have a right to life and to secure the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, safe environment, and economic security?
As a result of economic crisis many people are being forced to choose between basic necessities like food, shelter, and health care. How can you - and how can our society as a whole - help to provide for the needs of those whose basic rights are being compromised?
Did you know...All people, to the extent they are able, have a corresponding duty to work, a responsibility to provide for the needs of their families and an obligation to contribute to the broader society?
How do economic pressures undermine families? How can we support families during economic crisis?
From the USCCB: A Catholic Framework for Economic Life
MARRIAGE AS AN INSTITUTION EXTABLISHED BY GOD
Did you know...That Marriage, as instituted by God, is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman joined in an intimate community of life and love [The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC nos. 1602-1605)]?
Did you know...The Church teaches that the valid marriage of baptized Christians is a sacrament—a saving reality?
Marriage is both a natural institution and a sacred union because it is rooted in the divine plan for creation. A true marriage in the Lord with his grace will bring the spouses to holiness. Their love, manifested in fidelity, passion, fertility, generosity, sacrifice, forgiveness, and healing, makes known God's love in their family, communities, and society. This Christian meaning confirms and strengthens the human value of a marital union (CCC, nos. 1612-1617; 1641-1642).
Did you know...That as Christians, by giving witness to marriage between one man and one woman, uphold God’s intent for marriage, in which sexual relations have their proper and exclusive place?
In no way is this meant to discriminate or offend the dignity of persons with same-sex attraction. Christians must give witness to the whole moral truth and oppose as immoral both homosexual acts and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons (USCCB, Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and Same-Sex Unions).
Did you know...The Church teaches that the marital act of husband and wife is meant to express the full meaning of love, its power to unite a couple together and its openness to new life?
That power to create a new life with God is at the heart of what spouses share with each other (USCCB, Married Love & the Gift of Life) This is what the Church means by saying that every marital act must remain open to life and that contraception is objectively immoral.
Did you know...That same-sex union is not equivalent to a marriage?
For several reasons a same-sex union contradicts the nature of marriage: It is not based on the natural complementarity of male and female; it cannot cooperate with God to create new life; and the natural purpose of sexual union cannot be achieved by a same-sex union. Persons in same-sex unions cannot enter into a true conjugal union. Therefore, it is wrong to equate their relationship to a marriage.
Did you know...That when voting, policies on taxes, work, divorce, immigration, and welfare should uphold the God given meaning and value of marriage and family, and help families stay together (FCFC, 70)?
THE MEANING OF OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE EUCHARISTIC SACRIFICE
Did you know...The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, is really present under the appearances of bread and wine?
Did you know...that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the whole Christian life (Vatican II, Guadiam et Spes)?
Therefore, by partaking in Holy Communion, your beliefs must be in union with the Teachings of the Catholic Church. This examination includes fidelity to the moral teaching of the Church and how we live our private and public lives.
Did you know...Holy Communion is for practicing Catholics, who are in a state of grace, and who believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist?
One's beliefs must be in union with the entire moral teachings of the Catholic Church. To receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, one cannot be openly defying Teachings of the Church on issues on faith and morals.
Abridged One-Page Bulletin Insert
Diocese of Stockton Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship USCCB Resources - Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
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