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"What could possibly be a proportionate reason for the more than 45 million children killed by abortion in the past 35 years? Personally, we cannot conceive of such a proportionate reason."

KANSAS CITY, KS (Archdiocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph) - The Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann and the Most Reverend Robert W. Finn issued a Joint Pastoral Letter to the faithful in Northwestern Missouri and Northeastern Kansas. Catholic Online presents this well reasoned and clear presentation of the teaching of the Catholic Church for all of our readers in our continued effort to equip all Catholics, other Christians and all people of faith and good will to exercise what our U.S.Bishops have rightly called "Faithful Citizenship".

Our Moral Responsibility as Catholic Citizens

Dear Friends in Christ,

With the approaching general election this November, we believe this to be an important moment for us to address together the responsibility of Catholics to be well informed and well formed voters.Except for the election of our next President, the people of Northwestern Missouri and Northeastern Kansas will be choosing different candidates for different offices in our two dioceses. Yet the fundamental moral principles that should guide our choices as Catholic voters are the same.

For generations it has been the determination of Catholic Bishops not to endorse political candidates or parties. This approach was initiated by Archbishop John Carroll – the very first Catholic Bishop serving in the United States. It was long before there was an Internal Revenue Service Code, and had nothing to do with a desire to preserve tax-exempt status. Rather the Church in the United States realized early on that it must not tether the credibility of the Church to the uncertain future actions or statements of a particular politician or party. This understanding of the Church’s proper role in society was affirmed in the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word: “The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified with any political community nor bound by its ties to any political system. It is at once the sign and the safeguard of the transcendental dimension of the human person.”(Gaudium et Spes n.76).

A RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT ON ISSUES

At the same time, it is important to note that the Catholic Church in the United States has always cherished its right to speak to the moral issues confronting our nation. The Church has understood its responsibility in a democratic society to do its best to form properly the consciences of her members. In continuity with the long history of the efforts of American Bishops to assist Catholics with the proper formation of their consciences, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this past November issued a statement: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. In that document our brother bishops took care to note: “This statement is intended to reflect and complement, not substitute for, the ongoing teachings of bishops in our own dioceses and states.”

It is in this context that we offer the following reflections to assist the Catholic people of Northwestern Missouri and Northeastern Kansas in forming their consciences in preparation for casting their votes this November.

MANY ISSUES: PRUDENTIAL JUDGMENTS

Every Catholic should be concerned about a wide range of issues. We believe in a consistent ethic that evaluates every issue through the prism of its impact on the life and dignity of the human person. Catholics should care about public policies that:

. promote a just and lasting peace in the world,
. protect our nation from terrorism and other security threats,
. welcome and uphold the rights of immigrants,
. enable health care to be accessible and affordable,
. manifest a special concern for the poor by attending to their immediate needs and assisting them to gain economic independence,
. protect the rights of parents to be the primary educators of their children,
. create business and employment opportunities making it possible for individuals to be able to provide for their own material needs and the needs of their families,
. reform the criminal justice system by providing better for the needs of the victims of crimes, protecting the innocent, administering justice fairly, striving to rehabilitate inmates, and eliminating the death penalty,
. foster a proper stewardship of the earth that God has entrusted to our care.
This is by no means an exhaustive list.

While the above issues, as well as many others, have important moral dimensions, Catholics may and do disagree about the most effective public policies for responding to them. How these issues are best addressed and what particular candidates are best equipped to address them requires prudential judgments – defined as circumstances in which people can ethically reach different conclusions. Catholics have an obligation to study, reflect and pray over the relative merits ...