By Mary Clifford Morrell
Correspondent
In preparation for the 2022 mid-term elections Nov. 8, and the 2023 New Jersey State Senate elections, the New Jersey Catholic Conference offered the webinar, “Faithful Citizenship 101: A guide to understanding Catholics’ responsibility in the Public Square,” Oct. 20.
Moderated by John Hardiman, NJCC director of public relations, with opening prayer and remarks from Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, Diocese of Paterson, the webinar drew Catholics from across the state who, Hardiman said, were “already engaged or who wanted to be more engaged in our democracy.” The NJCC is the public policy arm for the state’s Catholic bishops.
Guest speaker Anthony J. Granado, vice president of government relations for Catholic Charities USA, provided an overview of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ teaching document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” which, he said, was meant to address “the political responsibility of Catholics, our rights and duties as citizens, but also as followers of Christ called to fulfill the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor.”
Granado explained that every four years since 1976, the U.S. bishops have issued a statement on political responsibility for Catholics. The current document title was adopted in 2007.
In his opening remarks, Bishop Sweeney reflected that “each of us is here because we are trying to form our consciences, live our consciences … and with the help of the Holy Spirit and together with the Church, we can continue to discern what the Lord is asking of us and how we can be faithful citizens.”
He shared his experiences of walking with immigrant communities, many of which helped him to see and appreciate “the great opportunities our country provides,” noting that “we should never forget the blessings, and that with the blessings come responsibilities.”
Bishop Sweeney also observed the need “to be careful as Church to not be too tied to one political party.”
Granado noted that in the Faithful Citizenship document, the U.S. Bishops address four main questions:
• Why does the Church teach about issues affecting public policy?
• Who in the Church should participate in political life?
• How does the Church help the Catholic faithful to speak about political and social questions?
• What does the Church say about Catholic social teaching in the public square?
He also explained that the document focuses on four basic principles of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.
Taken together, write the U.S. Bishops, “these principles provide a moral framework for Catholic engagement in advancing what we have called elsewhere a ‘consistent ethic of life.’ … Rightly understood, this ethic does not treat all issues as morally equivalent, nor does it reduce Catholic teaching to one or two issues. It anchors the Catholic commitment to defend human life, from conception until natural death, in the fundamental moral obligation to respect the dignity of every person as a child of God.”
“We must remember,” Granado said, that “the dignity of the human person touches on many dimensions as well, whether that be immigration, bioethics, war, peace, poverty … which means addressing issues such as racism, hunger, homelessness … and being instruments of peace at home and abroad.”
In addition to the presentation overview, Hardiman provided a tutorial of the newly updated Faithful Citizenship webpage – njcatholic.org/overview – and reviewed the extensive resources for faithful citizenship, which include:
• Political Activity Dos and Don’ts, providing guidelines for parishes and Catholic organizations
• Congressional Candidate Resource page to learn more about positions on various issues
• Voting Essentials, with information on mail-in, early voting, redistricting
• Civilize It, a USCCB campaign inspired by Pope Francis’ call to “create a new kind of politics.”
• USCCB videos on faith and politics
NJCC executive director Jim King’s column on “Civilizing It for a Better Kind of Politics” may also be accessed through the website and read in the inaugural issue of the NJCC Town Square newsletter from January.
More resources will become available as the 2023 election year approaches, said Hardiman. “We continue the message that faithful citizenship goes beyond the voting booth.”
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