Preparing to vote - Article Two

Article Two:

Dear brothers and sister in Christ,
Allow me to continue from last week’s Pastor’s corner as a means to offer some considerations as you discern how you will vote this coming month.
As Catholics we are called to see the world and the society we live in through the lens of faith. As believers, we should not be ashamed of what we believe to be true and just. Jesus does not leave us in limbo regarding how we are to live together as a society. It is true that Jesus Christ and the Church He founded does not specifically give direction as to how some topics should be resolved – issues such as the gas tax, minimum wage, daycare subsidies, the homeless, etc. And yet, the main moral and ethical principles we hold as true can and does play a role in all of these issues – they form the basis for the answers people should be looking for. Let’s look at the issue of the minimum hourly wage that politicians and parties will continue to struggle with. As Catholics we hold that people should be given a just wage for the work they do. But if people are receiving the minimum hourly wage and yet are unable to provide for their family, then we should make our politicians aware of the justice of increasing the minimum wage. In this case of the minimum hour wage, what Jesus taught about justice can and should play a part in the decisions that are made. Then there are the other issues of heated contention, such as Abortion, Euthanasia and Same Sex Marriage, where Jesus and His Church have clear views that cannot be watered down. As Catholics (be we politicians, or those who vote them in) we are clearly told the TRUTH about these topics and how we are to live them out in society. Sadly this TRUTH is not always believed by all Catholics. This TRUTH can and should impact our decision as to how we vote. I will leave you with this parting thought from a person whom I believe was a prophet in his own time and his words are still prophetic in ours. This is not my statement; it comes from the past Archbishop of New York, John J. Cardinal O’Connor, who once said he did not “see how a Catholic in good conscience can vote for a candidate who explicitly supports abortion.”

I now invite you to consider what has been written above before I continue this line of thought in next week’s pastor’s corner.

Blessings,
Fr. Liborio

p.s. I renew my clarification statement that what I have written and will write is not meant to lead you to vote for one candidate or one party over another - I just offer these thoughts to help you ‘discern’ how you will use your vote this October 21st