Archbishop Gomez calls on voters to incorporate faith into voting

Last updated on: September 24, 2012 at 11:38 pm by CNA Daily News

Archbishop Gomez calls on voters to incorporate faith into voting 2012-09-24T23:38:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Los Angeles, Calif., Sep 24, 2012 / 05:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles has called on Catholics to achieve a “unity of life” and let their faith form their political decisions as they prepare to vote this November.

“We have important obligations as citizens. But we have to carry out those obligations always in light of our duty to God,” the archbishop wrote in his Sept. 21 column for The Tidings.

The column is the first in a series he will write on the principles that should guide Catholics in thinking about this year's elections.

Archbishop Gomez observed that Catholics have a dual temptation with regards to faith and politics. They can either separate their beliefs from how they vote, or they can use their religion to justify their political projects.

But these two options both fail to bring about a “unity of life” in which the faith shapes “how we live and act,” and forms the “decisions we make in public life and who we vote for.”

Archbishop Gomez referred to Jesus' statement that one should “render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.”

Because Catholics live in the world, we are called to work for the common good of society, to obey just laws, and to respect society and government—that is what we render unto Caesar, he said.

What we render unto God is faith, which means that “we can't forget about the Church's teachings and the demands of God's law when we are engaged in our public life.”

“The most important thing is to form our consciences. We have to make sure our participation and our contributions always reflect the moral and religious values that we find in the Scriptures and in the teachings of our Church,” Archbishop Gomez wrote.

When Catholics go to the voting booth, he said, there are non-negotiable aspects of Catholic social teaching that they should recall. Abortion and euthanasia, and families based on a marriage between a man and a woman are among those non-negotiables. These issues cannot be disagreed about among Catholics who have formed their consciences with the Church, he said.

But many issues are debatable among Catholics who have well-formed consciences. Archbishop Gomez pointed to issues such as taxes, government spending, how to deal with immigration and helping the poor as examples of topics that are matters of prudential judgment.

In these areas “sincere and faithful Catholics are always going to have legitimate differences of opinion over how best to apply the Church’s moral principles,” he wrote.

“What’s important is that we are always trying to think and act with the mind of Christ and the mind of the Church.”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 24, 2012

Pope urges care, protection of Colombia's indigenous people

Next Post

September 25, 2012 Australian bishops pledge cooperation with abuse inquiry

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say happens when we are baptized into Christ Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

We are baptized into his death We become children of God We receive the Holy Spirit We are saved