| Faithful Citizenship |
"In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation." (#13)
"The Church calls for a different kind of political engagement: one shaped by the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of the weak and vulnerable." (#14)
Click on the underlined links below to access resources.
U.S. Catholic Conference Resources
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a wealth of resources, including pod casts, available for parish social ministers, homilists, youth ministers, educators, families and individuals.
Diocese of Rochester Resources
The Justice and Peace Staff is available to help parishes provide education on responsible citizenship.
Building Faithful Citizenship is a series of short bulletin articles that reflect on Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship in light of the Sunday Readings.
Bulletin Inserts for parishes
New York State Catholic Conference Guidelines for Political Involvement
Every four years, coinciding with the Presidential elections, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issues a statement called Faithful Citizenship in order to “communicate the Church’s teaching that every Catholic is called to active and faith-filled citizenship, based upon a properly informed conscience, so that each disciple of Christ publicly witnesses to the Church’s commitment to human life and dignity with special preference for the poor and the vulnerable.”
The bishops identify four moral priorities for public life, namely: 1) protect human life, 2) promote family life, 3) pursue social justice, and 4) practice global solidarity.
These four priorities reflect the core values of Catholic social teaching:
Protect Human Life
- Affirms the dignity of the human person from conception to death
Promote Family Life
- Family is the basic cell of human society
Pursue Social Justice – reflects the values of
- The call to community
- The right to participate in society
- Rights and responsibilities
- Option for the poor and vulnerable
- The dignity and rights of workers
Practice Global Solidarity
- Care for God’s Creation
- Call to be peacemakers
- We are one human family
Our bishops have stated "we hope that voters will examine candidates on the full range of issues and on their personal integrity, philosophy, and performance." The bishops also remind us that: “Decisions about candidates and choices about public policies require clear commitment to moral principles, careful discernment and prudential judgments based on the values of our faith.”
The Public Policy Committee invites every Catholic to reflect on these values and priorities as we seek to be “faithful citizens”.
