At the end of the month, I will be heading out of state to southwestern North Dakota to help rid the countryside of an infestation of ringneck pheasants who are terrorizing the locals. Since I will be gone election day, I dropped my absentee ballot off at the post office earlier this week. As a citizen, it is not only my right, but my responsibility to vote in the upcoming election. As a Christian, it is my sacred duty to vote with a conscience informed by the heart of the Church’s social teaching. Our Catholic faith is not simply an outer garment we can wear on the outside and then take off when we enter the voting booth (or mail in our absentee ballot).
Catholic Social Teaching, as well as our own U.S. Declaration of Independence, is very clear that in a just society, citizens are endowed with certain “inalienable rights.” But with enjoyment of these rights comes correlative responsibilities towards the society in which we are a part. For example, as Catholics we are very clear that the right to life from conception to natural death is inviolable. But at the same time then, we have a responsibility to foster and protect life at EVERY stage along the spectrum of life, not just at its beginning.
There are many other examples of this. To learn more about Rights and Responsibilities in Catholic Social Teaching, please watch this 3-minute video:
then go to:
We all have a responsibility to vote an informed conscience. To do otherwise is morally irresponsible.