Church and Citizenship

Parishes, schools, and other Catholic institutions should encourage active participation through voter registration and voter education efforts that are genuinely nonpartisan. Individual Catholics are called to be active and informed citizens running for office, participating in political parties and campaigns, and voting for the candidates of their choice. They can also join diocesan legislative networks and a wide variety of community organizations and advocacy groups.

The church as an institution has important but limited roles in the political process. As a tax-exempt organization, the church is not permitted to engage in partisan activities, supporting or opposing candidates and parties. These do?s and don?ts can help guide an appropriate program of voter education and civic responsibility.

Do?s
· Address the moral and human dimensions of public issues
· Share church teaching on human life, human rights, and justice and peace
· Apply Catholic values to legislation and public issues
· Invite all candidates for public office to a church-sponsored public forum, debate, or candidate night
· Conduct a nonpartisan voter registration drive on church property
· Distribute unbiased candidate questionnaires covering issues of human life, justice, and peace

Don'ts
· Endorse/oppose candidates for political office
· Distribute partisan campaign literature under church auspices
· Arrange for groups to work for a candidate for public office
· Invite only selected candidates to address your church-sponsored group
· Conduct voter registration slanted toward one party

Promoting Civic Responsibility In The Parish

Joan Rosenhauer is the Special Projects Coordinator of the U.S. Catholic Conference

Conventional wisdom and rules of etiquette suggest that you should never mix religion and politics. The Catholic tradition advises just the opposite.
In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue; participation in the political process is a moral obligation.

This statement is a simple, yet powerful summary of a key message in the bishops? new document Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium. Catholic teaching suggests that we must bring the values of our faith to the decisions we make as citizens. Our guide to public life should nor be simply party platforms or campaign positions. The insights of the Gospel and the guidance of Catholic social teaching should shape our approach to candidates and issues.

For most Catholics, this will be a new and challenging message. In a society driven by the market and the media, the church teaches that the life and dignity of every person should be the starting point for public policy decisions. In a culture that equates wealth with success, we say the moral measure of our policies should
be how the ?least among us? are faring. The church?s social teaching offers a consistent and coherent framework for approaching public life that many Catholics will welcome as they face difficult choices about candidates and issues.

But for some Catholics, the idea of connecting faith and politics immediately raises red flags. What happened to the separation of church and state? For others, the church?s positions on policy issues will be hard to fit into existing political perspectives and the priorities of our culture. As the bishops point out in Faithful Citizenship:
As Catholics, we are not free to abandon unborn children because they are seen as unwanted or inconvenient; to turn our backs on immigrants because they lack the proper documents; to turn away from poor women and children because they lack economic or political power.... No polls or focus groups can release us from the responsibility to speak up for the voiceless, to act in accord with our moral convictions.

Priests and parish leaders are the key to sharing this message. For their part, the bishops of the U.S. have made a significant commitment to helping pastors and parish leaders incorporate the message into parish programs. Early in 2000, the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC) will be producing a parish resource kit on Faithful Citizenship that will be mailed to parishes throughout the country. Now is a good time to begin thinking about how this message can best be shared in parishes and other ministries.

Integrate the Message
Sharing the message of Faithful Citizenship should nor require a new program, a new committee, or lots of extra time. The best strategy will involve weaving the message into ongoing parish ministries. Simple bulletin quotes can help parishioners begin to think about church teaching on civic responsibility. Homilies can focus attention on Catholic social teaching and the importance of shaping a society that promotes the common good. RCIA programs and other religious education programs can share the message that participation in public life should be approached from the perspective of Catholic teaching. In Catholic schools, classes on religion and social studies can incorporate this message. Almost any parish meeting represents an opportunity to distribute brochures summarizing Faithful Citizenship.

Delegate the Tasks
The parish kit that is being produced by the USCC will have handouts for key parish leaders (parish councils, liturgists, homilists, DREs, school principals, etc.) with ideas for incorporating the message of Faithful Citizenship into various aspects of parish life. One of the most important things pastors can do is to distribute the handouts and lend their support for parish leaders? efforts to share the message.

The Role of the Priest
Priests are perhaps the most important teachers and leaders when it comes to sharing Catholic teaching about "faithful citizenship." If parishioners never hear about this calling from their priests, they will absorb a message about the topic "that it isn't very important". So it is essential that priests incorporate this message into their homilies and other teaching opportunities. Priests can advance this teaching in several ways.

Highlight the Tradition!
The Catholic Church has a long and rich tradition of thought on social issues and on the importance of participation in civic life. The year 2000 is a valuable opportunity to share key themes of Catholic social reaching, which can serve as a guide for considering policy issues and candidates.

Avoid Partisanship!
For both pastoral and legal reasons, it is inappropriate for parish representatives to take positions or endorse materials that imply support of or opposition to a party or candidate. Focus your message on the moral dimensions of issues and the importance o)f participation. Support parish and diocesan efforts to work on public policy issues that protect human life and promote justice and peace. Encourage Catholics to get involved in parties and campaigns as individuals, but avoid actions that would imply partisanship on the part of the parish.

Tell People to Vote, Not How To Vote
Although, as individuals, priests can and should support the parties and candidates of their choice, publicly encouraging parishioners to vote for one candidate or another is nor appropriate. Urge parishioners to) study Catholic reaching, learn about the issues, vote, and participate in public policy decisions. Suggest that parishioners use the ?Questions for the Campaign? outlined in Faithful Citizenship to assess candidates and parties. Challenge parishioners to have their faith shape their politics.

Seize the Opportunities
As the campaigns of 2000 heat up, many Catholics will be struggling to make sense of the candidates and the issues. While they may nor initially look to their church for help, we can and should seize the opportunity to) share Catholic social teaching and its implications for key issues.

In addition to the USCC parish resource kits, during the coming year many Catholic organizations will produce materials, host conferences, and offer training on church teaching about ?faithful citizenship.? Contact your diocesan social ministry office to find out about local help for parishes. The USCC and the National Federation of Priests? Councils (NFPC) will be offering programs of continuing education for priests that can be adapted for diocesan priest convocations and other meetings

With cynicism about U.S. politics growing and civic participation n levels dropping, this may be a difficult time to be a Catholic voter, but it is an important time to be a Catholic leader. We have an important message of hope and encouragement that we must share more broadly in the Catholic community and beyond.