I read an account recently about a nun who had returned to the states from a lifetime of service in East and Central Africa. At a meeting with other missionaries who had returned home for some relief, these returning missionaries recounted their experiences in Africa, but now being outside of the numerous danger zones and intense poverty. All were seeking temporary respite from the various genocides and civil wars that were then active and in areas where they served. This particular missionary noted that they all were all in some stage of depression, mostly at a loss as to what they could do to make any difference for the people they had spent most of their adult lives trying to serve. She recounted how the discussion had more or less ground to a halt when one member of the group spoke up and said that what they had to do was the “next good thing.” She said the group members more or less stopped talking about their various experiences from the past and instead began to discuss what could be done for the future via whatever specific act, however small, could be the next thing that was right and true and feasible to do.
Reflecting on the story, it struck me that there was an application that could be made to the upcoming November elections. Just about anyone following the presidential race could say it has been different this time around, even strange. There are many who say they cannot vote for either of the candidates of the two major parties, but hope they will be able to vote for a presidential candidate from a third party, or a candidate that may yet surface “out of the blue.” I think it is important to note that, aside from the presidential race, there are other important statewide races that can have a major impact on the direction Montana takes. In other words, it is important to get out and vote.
In some way, albeit a small way, how we vote, and that we vote, is a way to do something that is “right and true” and certainly is “feasible to do.” This is not the same thing as to say it is easy to choose this or that candidate. We must become informed as much as possible. And it is a good reason why prayer and discernment should necessarily be a part of who we decide to vote for.
It would be an understatement to say making a choice for this or that candidate is clear cut. It is often a rarity to find a candidate, on any level, who closely and clearly manifests values in line with Catholic social teaching. Nonetheless, it is among such candidates that we as voters must chose. How we should vote and/or how we should be involved in the political process is solely the responsibility of each citizen. The role of the church is to present the truths of faith and to help people to form good consciences in accordance with the objective principles of moral norms. The role of the Catholic voter is to apply these principles to specific views of candidates and vote accordingly. It is not the responsibility of the church to dictate how anyone must vote. It is a prudential, and hopefully, faith-filled decision required of each voter.
There are many issues and concerns that we face in November: the economy, jobs, immigration, taxes, terrorism, war… At the forefront of all issues is concern for human dignity and threats to all human life as is sometimes said, our concern for human life must cover “from the womb to the tomb.”
John Carr, who serves as director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University has spoken often of Catholics being homeless in any political party. His point is that no political party is completely consistent with Catholic social teaching or a consistent ethic of life, but this does not absolve a Catholic from being involved in the political process. In a recent article in America magazine he wrote: “Being politically homeless does not mean that Catholics who support a consistent ethic of life can avoid hard choices or engage in simplistic moral equivalency on either issues or candidates in this election. Homelessness is not a virtue but a sign that we need to find new ways, allies and arguments to make a persuasive case for the protection of the life and dignity of all—in both parties and in a “throwaway culture.”
We may think that it really doesn’t matter whether we vote or not. If we don’t, then we have surrendered what we believe is right and true to others whose vision for our country and our state may be very wrong and false.
Please help us continue
