Faithful citizenship linked to Catholic social teaching
By James McEvoy
Staff Writer
PISCATAWAY — With the upcoming presidential election just weeks away, Catholics were provided an opportunity to explore the basis of creating a moral conscience to help them become faithful citizens.
“The Catholic Voter: Forming Conscience and Forming Society” symposium was sponsored by The Catholic Spirit, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and the Offices of Family Life, Respect for Life and Catechesis Sept. 16 at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center.
One of two speakers, Joan Rosenhauer, associate director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, emphasized the importance of spreading the message of being conscientious and faithful members of society.
“The goal is to bring this message to the Catholic community,” she said.
She added as disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, it is essential to reach out to help all people. She identified participation as citizens as a major way to reach out and help those in need and fulfill Christ’s mission.
“We are called to live his mission and center his mission in our lives,” she said.
To illustrate the point of helping those in need, Rosenhauer referred to words of Pope Benedict XVI in his first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est,” in which he stated “The church cannot neglect the service of charity anymore than she can neglect the sacraments and the word.”
Rosenhauer reiterated that the members of the faith are the church and charity is part of the mission.
She added that there were a great number of examples in the Old Testament regarding the significance of justice, including in Isaiah which makes references to the evil of hurting those most in need.
She also referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which she said also supports the idea that as members of the faith, all Catholics are obligated to take an active role in public life.
Rosenhauer addressed the responsibilities of American citizenship and how to bring those responsibilities to the Catholic community while at the same time acknowledging the skepticism and anxiety many Catholics have when politics are discussed in concert with the church.
She explained also that “Faithful Citizenship” is not a new initiative, as the USCCB has been making a statement pertaining to Catholics’ responsibility in forming social consciences and being active in public life since 1976.
Unlike previous years, this year’s version of the “Faithful Citizenship” was voted on by every bishop, who approved the document 221-4. In previous years, the document was approved by the USCCB’s Administrative Committee.
“That’s about as close as to unanimous as you’re going to get,” she said.
She also said the creation of a moral conscience is deeply rooted in the faith and is “at the very heart of who we are and what we believe as Catholics.”
She additionally wanted to emphasize that forming conscience and faithful citizenship does not focus on partisan politics or solely on presidential elections, but also in recognizing the need to influence the public forums to uphold love and care for all human life.
“In what way can we demonstrate that love for our neighbors? Where are our opportunities to show our concern for those in need? There are many, but one of the places is in the public arena, in the roles we have as citizens,” she said.
Although Rosenhauer acknowledged the church may lose its tax exemption status if she were to ever endorse a specific candidate, there were far more significant reasons the church avoids this practice.
The major reasons why the church avoids endorsing a particular candidate includes the fact that politicians support political ideas while the church professes the principals of the Gospels.
“Those are very different things. You can’t suggest that they’re all one in the same,” she added.
There is also the risk that people would assume the candidate represents the church in all aspects, she said.
Rosenhauer added that a particular politician could also change stance or have some unknown unethical behavior which would reflect poorly on the church.
“We don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Rosenhauer said.
She also dispelled the myth that the church would not support a candidate due to the separation of church and state.
She explained that the Constitution only says that the state cannot create and impose a church on the citizenry and makes no mention of faithful members of an organized religion being unable to take part in the political process.
“It never says that people acting out of their religious convictions can’t participate in the public debate. We have all the same rights as everybody else,” she said.
In regards to forming conscience in choosing a candidate, Rosenhauer said “your choice needs to be based on some fundamental truths.”
These truths included defending and upholding the life and dignity of every human person as well as helping the poor and respecting the rights of workers.
Further, she said a candidate’s support of something that is intrinsically evil, such as abortion, may be enough to justify a Catholic voting for another candidate. She also drew a direct link between being a faithful citizen and affirming Catholic social teaching.
Being a faithful citizen is broader than participation in presidential elections and includes forming moral conscience regarding all public elections as well as working to help those in dire need, Rosenhauer explained.
The primary elections saw almost unprecedented participation from younger voters. Signifying such interest in the presidential election was attendance at the symposium by two students from Bishop George Ahr High School, Edison.
Jillian Schweizer, a senior, expressed regret that more students, especially those who are eligible to vote, did not take the opportunity to attend the symposium.
Schweizer felt the speakers and their talks would help her figure out “how to make informed decisions” in regards to her role as a citizen in the future.
Brooke Schneider, also a senior, called the symposium revealing and informative.
“[It was] interesting to see what our role is as Catholics,” she said.
Due to the intricacies and ever-changing political landscape some voters may still face challenges in creating their own moral conscience.
Pat Bustin of Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords, said she attended the symposium because she felt very conflicted regarding the upcoming presidential election.
Despite the fact Bustin does not feel she has a completely formed conscience as of yet, she said she now realizes what she has to do.
“[The symposium] told me I need to study more, read more and pray more,” she said.
Bustin added she needs to work on forming her conscience further to ensure she’s confident that she will “make the right decision.”