As US Catholics prepare to vote in the US election November 8, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a page on their website dedicated to informing the Catholic vote.
While professing Catholics vary widely in their approach to the voting booth, the Church has consistently sent one message: love God, and love others.
In order to ensure cohesion and an informed Catholic vote, every election includes preaching, teaching, and guidance from the Bishops on a variety of issues affecting Americans and global community.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, provides clear guidance by maintaining a teaching document on their website.
The document contains information designed to help Catholics vote their well-formed conscience, and is dedicated to encouraging faithful citizenship for American Catholics. Among other topics, the Bishops desire to impart in the faithful a clear definition of what the Catholic vote should look like on a wide variety of issues.
According to the bishops’ document, the primary issues of concern for Catholics should be the support of human life, promoting peace and religious freedom, providing education, health care and housing for all people, and protecting the institution of marriage while supporting families. Other important and relevant topics include protecting the environment, ending discrimination and providing economic and social justice for all. Included are issues relating to free speech in the media, and protecting means of information and communication for all people, as well as global solidarity with other suffering nations.
The document, informed by the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, contains social teaching and other related information designed to help Catholics continue to live out what they vote towards in the post-election season.
Catholics worldwide can read and share the teaching here before voting, and afterwards to ensure they are practicing their faith in a practical way.
Catholic Voters can also share in today’s internet musings on the 2016 election landscape. A trending hashtag on Twitter and Facebook, #ElectionFinalThoughts, allows users everywhere to share their thoughts on the upcoming election.
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