We are called to be
servants to the whole truth

(Editor’s note: This is the introductory section of the USCCB’s teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics. From now until the election in November, we will have excerpts from this document in the South Texas Catholic to help our readers “form their conscience.” The Church does not choose candidates or political parties, but wants the faithful to be aware of their responsibility to be active in the public square and be knowledgeable of Church social teaching in making their political choices.) 

The Catholic bishops of the United States are pleased to offer once again to the Catholic faithful Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, our teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics. This statement represents our guidance for Catholics in the exercise of their rights and duties as participants in our democracy. We urge our pastors, lay and religious faithful, and all people of good will to use this statement to help form their consciences; to teach those entrusted to their care; to contribute to civil and respectful public dialogue; and to shape political choices in the coming election in light of Catholic teaching.

The statement lifts up our dual heritage as both faithful Catholics and American citizens with rights and duties as participants in the civil order. First and foremost, however, we remember that we relate to the civil order as citizens of the heavenly Kingdom, whose reign is not yet fully realized on earth but demands our unqualified allegiance. It is as citizens faithful to the Lord Jesus that we contribute most effectively to the civil order.

This document…draws on the wealth of papal teaching…such as the…magisterium of Pope Benedict XVI and that of Pope Francis to date. From these great teachings we discern, for example, messages to the universal Church to attend in a special way: to the inextricable link between our witness to the truth and our service to those in need (Caritas in Veritate); to our role as missionary disciples, called forth from the sanctuary to bring Christ to the margins with joy (Evangelii Gaudium); and to the care for our common home and all who dwell in it, especially the poorest (Laudato Si’).

The document is also updated to take account of recent developments in the United States in both domestic and foreign policy:

• The ongoing destruction of more than 1 million innocent human lives each year by abortion;
• Physician-assisted suicide;
• The redefinition of marriage—the vital cell of society—by the courts, political bodies, and increasingly by American culture itself;
• The excessive consumption of material goods and the destruction of natural resources, which harm both the environment and the poor;
• The deadly attacks on fellow Christians and religious minorities throughout the world;
• The narrowing redefinition of religious freedom, which threatens both individual conscience and the freedom of the Church to serve;
• Economic policies that fail to prioritize the poor, at home or abroad;
• A broken immigration system and a worldwide refugee crisis; and
• Wars, terror, and violence that threaten every aspect of human life and dignity.

All of these threats, and more, speak to a breakdown in what Pope Francis has called an “integral ecology”. Without the proper ordering of relationships of persons with each other, with creation, and ultimately with God himself, sin takes hold. Pope Francis reminds us that all individuals, nations and members of the global community have the duty to place the needs of others ahead of selfish desires to possess and exploit the good things that come from God’s hand.

This document is to be read prayerfully and in its totality. It would be a serious mistake—and one that occurs with regrettable frequency—to use only selected parts of the Church’s teaching to advance partisan political interests or validate ideological biases. All of us are called to be servants to the whole truth in authentic love, and it is our fervent hope and prayer that this document will provide aid to all those seeking to heed this call.

Finally, while this document is about the civil order, we cannot fail to call the faithful to prayer. The struggles that we face as a nation and as a global community cannot be addressed solely by choosing the “best candidate” for political office. No, in addition to forming our consciences, we must fast and pray, asking our loving and gracious God to give us the ability to effectively proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through our daily witness to our faith and its teachings. 

Let us all take to heart the urgency of our vocation to live in the service to others through the grace of Christ and ask humbly in prayer for an outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit on the United States of America.