The USCCB published a two-part summary to complement their full teaching document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility. We walked through Part One ahead of and during our 2020 local and primary elections, going deeper into how Catholics participate in public life, promote the common good, protect human life and dignity, and love their neighbors.
“As Catholics, we bring the richness of our faith to the public square. We draw from both faith and reason as we seek to affirm the dignity of the human person and the common good of all. Everyone living in this country is called to participate in public life and contribute to the common good. . . As people of both faith and reason, Catholics are called to bring truth to political life and to practice Christ’s commandment to “love one another” (Jn 13:34).”
"As Catholics, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to any political party or interest group. In today's environment, Catholics may feel political disenfranchised, sensing that no party and few candidates fully share our comprehensive commitment to human life and dignity. This should not discourage us. On the contrary, it makes our obligation to act all the more urgent. Catholic lay women and men need to act on the Chuirch's moral principles and. . . raise their voices on matters that affect their lives and the common good."
“We are part of a community with profound teachings that help us. . . evaluate policy positions, party platforms, and candidates’ promises and actions in light of the Gospel in order to help build a better world. . . Every human being “must always be understood in his unrepeatable and inviolable uniqueness”. . . The Compendium [of the Social Doctrine of the Church] continues, “It is necessary to ‘consider every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity’”.
“Taken together, these principles provide a moral framework for Catholic engagement in advancing what we have called a “consistent ethic of life”. . . Rightly understood, this ethic does not treat all issues as morally equivalent; nor does it reduce the Catholic teaching to one or two issues. It anchors the Catholic commitment to defend human life and other human rights, from conception until natural death, in the fundamental obligation to respect the dignity of every human being as a child of God. . . Solidarity is “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to. . .the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all”. . . [because] we are one human family.”