Faithful Citizenship part 2

I remember a freshman student once asked why the Catholic Church had to be so different, why they could not believe like everyone else.  I tries to explain the challenge of the Gospels and the demands of Discipleship.  The response was sort of 'deer in the headlights' stare.  But it can at times be difficult to appreciate the challenges we are called to live by in our faith.This fall the U.S. Bishops revised their document on political participation, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship."

The document hopes to convey to catholics the importance of allowing our faith to inform our political decisions.  We as U.S. citizens tend to shy away from making political judgments from a religious view.  Separation of Church and State and all of that.   But we as religious people are to be concerned with the common good of all men and women, as well as their welfare and the respect of life.  So we have an obligation to participate in the government process.

Because we are part of this larger community, the Bishops want us to understand that we bring our principles and moral convictions to the discussion table.  The Church has a long tradition of teachings on marriage, family, justice and peace, human dignity, respect of life, and human dignity.  The Bishops state, "The Church, through its institutions must eb free to carry out its mission and contribute to the common good without being pressured to sacrifice fundamental teachings and moral principles.  Our catholic tradition should inform we the voters, and also the leadership who forms legislation and forms policy.

This text asks that catholics become aware of our moral and social justice teachings.  The Bishops do have a check-list, but ask that catholics allow their faith to be their guide.  But the Bishops wisely note that we cannot become persuaded by candidates who agree with only one or two moral principles.  Some candidates will say the the right words or phrases for political expediency.  We need to be aware of this.

The last half of the Document looks at a series of issues which effect our culture today.  These are issues which have moral implications and are important to the commonality of our society.  We as catholics are asked to be aware and educated about the issues which are core to the human family.

From the very first day that Sister asked us to be aware of that 'little voice' inside of us, until today, we as a Church are called upon to be keenly aware of our Church Teachings, and to have our consciences formed by the truth of these teachings.  The Church needs to continue to be the stumbling block in the world today.  We have to have the courage and perseverance to point out when the emperor has no clothes.