Happy All Souls Day! I was initially going to write on the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, but given that it is almost Election Day, I decided to write on politics and the Catholic Church instead! Many questions have arisen lately about the Church's role in the political world. Often times people are very upset when the Church speaks out on or gets involved with political issues, whether it is criticism of the invasion of Iraq, refusing communion to politicians who vote in ways that support abortion, or urging people to vote against the referendum on the death penalty and for the amendment regarding marriage. I can understand people's concern, as I myself disagree with some of the stands on political issues the Church has taken, but I understand and agree with the reasons the Church gets involved in the first place. We live in a country that upholds the separation of Church and State. In fact, the Catholic Church also supports the separation of Church and State on a governmental level. As Christians, however, our religious beliefs should affect our political opinions. Likewise, the Church has an obligation to address its members and society as a whole on justice issues. What the Church cannot do is take a partisan position. In other words, the Church cannot endorse any specific candidate or political party. The Church is not even allowed to state that a certain candidate is the "pro-life" candidate nor can it pass out any literature that endorses one candidate over another. The Church can urge you to vote one way or another on referendums because they address issues not candidates or parties.

For more information on the Church's stance on various political issues and the guidelines given for parish involvement in political issues, check out the website for the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, the public policy and lobbying organization of the Wisconsin bishops. On the years of presidential elections (so last written in 2004), the United States Bishops also write a document titled, "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility." When looking at the Church's stance on various political issues, it should quickly become clear that there is no party or candidate that upholds all of the positions of the Catholic Church. The Church maintains that all Catholics have an obligation and a responsibility to participate in the political process, and therefore should vote. They will not (or should not) tell you for whom you should vote. "Faithful Citizenship" speaks of the fact that a Catholic's political responsibility does not end with casting a ballot, but in fact truly begins the day after the election in terms of lobbying your local, state and federal officials on important public policy issues. One of the bedrock tenets of Catholic social teaching is that we must all have a concern for the common good and that the role of the government is to protect the common good. We live in solidarity with the entire human family, and therefore must be concerned not only about issues that affect our lives and those we care about, but also issues that impact the community and the entire global society.

All of the above raises the question of what one is to do when one finds oneself in the position of disagreeing with the Church's position on a specific issue. The first thing to do is to be responsibly informed about what the Church teaches and why it teaches what it does. As one of my professors used to put it, you need to discover the value behind the teaching. Even if you disagree with the position the Church takes, you may find you agree with the value the Church is trying to protect. The second thing to do is think about why you take the position you do. Examine where your own ideas come from and discuss the issue with others you respect, both those who agree and disagree with you. What values are behind your own position? Sometimes what is at stake is the conflict between two values, both of which are good in and of themselves. Ultimately, if you find you cannot accept the Church's position, you may dissent from the Church's stance, but in doing so are asked to keep an open mind about the teaching. The Second Vatican Council, the document Gaudium et Spes (The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) addresses the dignity of moral conscience. It states that

deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, tells him inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he will be judged. His conscience is man's most secret core, and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths. By conscience, in a wonderful way, that law is made known which is fulfilled in the love of God and of one's neighbor. Through loyalty to conscience Christians are joined to other men in the search for truth and for the right solution to so many moral problems which arise both in the life of individuals and from social relationships. (GS 16)

The document recognizes the primacy of human conscience in decision-making, but it goes on to state that a conscience can go astray through ignorance or the blindness of sin. Following one's conscience is not simply a matter of doing whatever one wants. A conscience has to be informed and examined. The presumption of correctness is given to Church teaching. The Church does not take positions on issues lightly, but rather studies the matter at length, consulting with experts on the issue before forming their positions and teaching. However, when one finds oneself unable to agree with that teaching in the depths of one's (informed and examined) conscience, one has a right to follow one's convictions and can withhold personal assent from the teaching.