Keeping the “Forming Consciences” in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”
By Steve Herro, O. Praem
Social Concerns Director
Catholic Diocese of Green Bay
sherro@gbdioc.org “We’re teachers. We’re best when we encourage, educate, and exhort. [Parishioners don’t want their bishop] to tell them how to vote, and woe to us if we did,”
- Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of Milwaukee
Sept. 23, 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In 2006, my home state of Wisconsin was in the midst of a heated off term election as citizens weighed in on two controversial issues: an advisory referendum as to whether the state should re-institute the death penalty and a vote to amend the state constitution to include an amendment that stated that a marriage was a union between one man and one woman. The Wisconsin Catholic Conference weighed in heavily on both issues, in opposition to the death penalty and in support of the marriage amendment. Though I have been a political junkie my entire life and truly relish public policy advocacy, I was never so happy to see an election pass as I was in November 2006. The Church in Wisconsin was very divided on both of these issues. Fast forward to January 2008. I was addressing one of the local branches of the Knights of Columbus, their spouses, and invited clergy at the annual “Clergy Night.” The organizer and I agreed that my presentation would attempt to connect the premises of “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” with the mission of the Knights of Columbus. After thanking the Knights for their support of the Church’s pro-life position, vocations, and comprehensive immigration reform, I reminded those gathered that “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” is a lens for all of us to use for the next four years when discerning our position on public policy at the local, state, and national level and that our Bishops asked us in the document not to apply other election guides in our churches. After my prepared comments, I asked, “Are there any comments or questions?” Bill raised his hand and stated, “I have about 16 pages of comments and questions! Now, do we agree that the primary function of the bishops is to teach the flock? If so, why can’t they just tell us of whom to vote?” I reminded the audience of the document’s seventh paragraph, “In this statement, we bishops do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. Our purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth. We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience….” When I replied that the primacy of conscience formation was not some “new fad” hatched in the last few months but a premise of Vatican II (see especially “Declaration on Religious Freedom,” #3), Bill replied, “Now that is another thing that is wrong with the Church!....” After reading “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” I am particularly struck by #17-39. What is our role as parish social ministry leaders in helping persons form their consciences? We are called to promote the study of the sources of our own religious tradition, pray, and examine objective research when forming our consciences and helping others to form theirs. Conscience formation is hard work, but I hope that we are all willing to invest the necessary spiritual and physical energy and time to this necessary cause. What are the sources in our own religious tradition? We have sacred scripture, Catholic social teaching as articulated by papal encyclicals and our Bishops’ writings, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I hope that each of us has these necessary tools on our bookshelves in our offices. Do we pray for wisdom for our voters and lawmakers, that their hearts and minds will be open to selecting the most prudent path guided by a well-formed conscience? Do we pray with others when we come together to study our own sources of tradition and objective research on social issues? Do we study objective research when gathering data to help form our consciences for public policy decision making? We must invest the necessary time to read, view, and question valid sources such as Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s materials on the state of poverty in the U.S.A. (United States Census figures, and international data assembled by sources such as the United Nations.) Do we study candidates’ positions as they articulate them in interviews and debates? Let us keep the first FC (Forming Consciences) in FCFC (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship). One practical suggestion is to always refer to the document by its entire title and not the handier and shorter “Faithful Citizenship”.
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Word from the Office: Why is Being a Faithful Citizen so Difficult?By Rachel Lustig
Director of Parish Social Ministry
rlustig@catholiccharitiesusa.org There is a lot of buzz around Faithful Citizenship. In the last few months, the entire Conference of U.S. Bishops reviewed the updated document for the first time, the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering focused on it, several dioceses and Catholic Charities agencies have presented on the theme, the PSM Section devoted two editions of Koinonia to the topic, and this week, there was a lot of discussion on the topic on the PSM Section Discussion list . As I thought about this reality while preparing to write this article, I couldn’t help but think – why is being a faithful citizen so difficult? What struck me was all that is required to be a faithful citizen. To be a faithful citizen, one must: - Understand social sin and seek to understand why things are happening. Faithful citizens must appreciate that laws, policies and customs are made by humans. As such, these laws are inherently flawed and can be manipulated. A faithful citizen must then analyze the situation to see the sources of the problem and the values that enable it.
- Discern issues through the lens of faith. A faithful citizen must form a conscience to evaluate situations. The person needs to have principles and values which set a standard for action. While these values and principles can be simple, they need to be deeply understood and held inside. Then, they can be used to evaluate different situations. The U.S. Bishops spoke eloquently about this process in the document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
- Engage in the political process. The United States political process is complex. Engaging in the political process effectively requires an understanding of the system and knowledge of the ways to engage in it.
In sum, being a faithful citizen requires a well rounded set of skills and ability to discern. The challenge for Parish Social Ministers is to seek to understand which one or ones of these our constituency needs help with and then to provide it. Thankfully, we are not alone in the process. As we speak, members are submitting ideas to other Parish Social Ministry Section members through the discussion list. There are a series of best practices from people with experience in this newsletter. Even though it is difficult to be a Faithful Citizen – we can help each other to form our constituencies.
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Best Practices:
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship Repetition is the “Mother” of Learning and Action
Sister Mary Schmuck, RSM
Parish Social Ministry Department
Catholic Charities of Louisville
schmuckrsm@scnazarethky.org Repetition seems to be the “mother” of learning and action. I have heard that people need to hear something six time to get their attention and thirty times to take action. At Catholic Charities of Louisville, we are doing our best to get their attention. - On July 2, we have Faithful Citizenship day in Louisville, for which Mark Bouchard leading for Catholic Charities.
- We are collaborating on a Faithful Citizenship workshop lead and presented by Mr. Edward C. Monahan, Executive Director with the Siena Center for Adult Faith Formation (a collaboration among the Dominican Sisters, St. Catharine College, and religious education agencies in Archdiocese of Louisville and Diocese of Lexington).
- Generating participants takes many individual phone calls to Parish Social Ministry Partners (in the 45 parishes for the four regions of our archdiocese), school, and religious education leaders.
- In addition, Mark Bouchard and I conferred with leaders in our Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office for Lifelong Formation and Education (OLFE), sharing our efforts to support Kids Voting USA in schools by complementing this effort with Faithful Citizenship teachings in our Catholic Schools and parish religious education leaders.
- In March, the Faithful Citizenship bulletin insert was included with “Parish Social Ministry Update” mailing to 114 PSM Partners, pastors and religious education leaders.
It takes a while to build up the six needed that gets people’s attention and the 30 needed to generate action!
Dedicated Parishioners Empower
By Larry Fulton, Social Outreach Chair
St. Mary Magdalene Church Parish Council
San Diego, CA
lfulton@kavton.com
We are fortunate to have a large core of persons in our parish in San Diego who are dedicated to assisting in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy on a regular basis. I would like to describe the two persons who have made the Pro-Life Ministry their focus of Time and Talent for their parish community.
Lisa and Betsy are the two women who have served in this ministry. Both are motivated to serve and their dedication to the Pro-Life Ministry has made this ministry one of the strongest in our parish. Because of their willingness to serve, our parish has been able to participate in many activities that promote Pro-Life issues on a social and political basis.
By utilizing their contacts and media files, they have focused on those activities in the community and political issues via petitions and marches to assure that our parish members can participate as they choose based on up to date and accurate information. They have used the parish bulletin for many of these announcements and have enlisted the support of our priests who have supported many of the activities from the pulpit.
It is a pleasure and an honor to watch these dedicated people!
Host a Faithful Citizenship Forum
By Elizabeth S. Lilly, Director
Community and Parish Partnerships
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
elilly@ccsj.org
On April 3, the Council of Priests, the Office for Evangelization, Justice and Peace of the Office for Pastoral Ministry and the Vicar for Clergy office co-sponsored workshops for clergy and laity on the document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States." Dr. Stephen Colecchi, Director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the USCCB, introduced the document, outlined its sections and offered practical ideas for sharing the teaching with pastoral prudence in the parish setting. Catholic Charities Parish Social Ministry assisted with publicity, especially with JustFaith alumni and hospitality. Between morning and evening presentations on Faithful Citizenship, Dr. Colecchi outlined the USCCB policy and statements on the Middle East. Catholic Charities had a table with information about the Refugee Resettlement Program and the Refugee Foster Care for unaccompanied minors. Parish Social Ministry of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and the Office of Pastoral Ministry of the Diocese of San Jose continue to work closely on social ministry education and advocacy.
Charge a Faithful Citizenship Committee with Doing The Work
By Barbara Budde, Director
Parish Social Ministry, Social Concerns
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
barbara-budde@austindiocese.org
We have a diocesan committee charged with ensuring that the vision of Faithful Citizenship institutionalizes every area of Church life – meaning that schools, hospitals, institutions of higher learning as well as parishes understand that the mission of the Church – therefore of every Catholic is to engage in the work of transforming the world through civic participation. The parish sub-committee of the Faithful Citizenship committee is comprised of Parish Social Ministry coordinators. The Faithful Citizenship committee has collaborated with the Austin Diocesan Council of Catholic Women to promote Faithful Citizenship in the more rural areas of our diocese. They have been the driving force behind voter registration drives in some deaneries of our diocese. Members also participate in our advocacy efforts. In some parishes where there are few staff resources, the Council of Catholic Women is doing the parish social ministry work!
Create a Source of Information
By Kathleen Riley, Member of Adult Enrichment Committee
St. Matthew’s Parish
Green Bay, WI
In the months before the 2008 National Election, St. Matthew Community will be distributing copies of the U. S. Bishops’ document on Faithful Citizenship to its members. During this time, the community plans to emphasize the moral obligation of Catholics to participate in political life. Three months before the Fall Election, discussion groups will form to discuss Part I of the document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: The U.S. Bishops’ Reflection on Catholic Teaching and Political Life”. After the Fall Election, discussion groups will resume to finish with Part II “Applying Catholic Teaching to Major Issues…”
With national voting participation low, the immediate focus of team efforts will be on spreading information. We are thinking of creating a “Faithful Citizen” kiosk, which would provide a permanent place for the community to access information on candidates and issues. The community will be directed to the diocesan website for information, when possible. A special section of the parish library could be set aside for materials referred to on the diocesan website to accommodate those who do not have access to the internet. Material under consideration for kiosk posting (bulletin board) include election dates, a listing of candidates, text of referendums, sample ballots, maps of district boundaries and polling places.
Invite Ages 1-99
By Carolyn Coutu, Youth Ministry
St. Thomas More Parish
Appleton, WI
Here at St. Thomas More Parish in Appleton, WI, we are planning an intergenerational evening to educate, discuss and reflect on this important document. All members of the parish from 1-99 years are encouraged to attend. Our goal is to focus on the first part of Part I of the document; looking at what is expected from every Catholic when discerning political nominees and speaking on social questions. For the evening, we are hoping to create a positive ‘patriotic’ theme with the music, prayer, environment and refreshments. Our hope is to have the parishioners be proud of being both American and Catholic and see how they are inter-related. We will begin the evening in church with praise and worship music and a brief prayer service. We will then divide into age appropriate groups to look at the document and what it means to us as Catholics especially during this presidential campaign. Each group will have a guest speaker who will educate as well as lead discussion and reflection. After the breakout sessions, we will regroup in the church and hear comments from a representative of each group as to what that group learned. We will end in prayer and have refreshments to follow.
Engage Local Media to Discuss Faithful Citizenship
By Steve Herro, O. Praem
Social Concerns Director
Catholic Diocese of Green Bay
sherro@gbdioc.org
We obviously live in a video driven culture. Why not arrange for a bishop who actually discussed and voted on “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” to appear on a local news hour to help explain the document to the local Church? The release of the document did receive national publicity in the secular press, and I suspect that even non-Catholics might be interested in our response to the issue of Catholic participation in the public square. Though we are currently “ordinary-less,” we hope to arrange for one of our more media savvy spokespersons (bishop, pastor, etc.) to appear on the local Catholic college’s monthly 30 minute news show. The show is played for 30 minutes every Thursday night during its given month; it reaches nearly one-half of our diocesan cable TV subscribers. We were able to arrange for our previous ordinary to appear on the show in Fall 2006 when the Wisconsin Catholic Conference was heavily invested in two state referendum issues. He did a great job.
Use Parish Bulletins as a Herald
By Sister Patricia Kelly, M.S.B.T.
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
patkellytrin@aol.com Beginning with the parish bulletin at St. Philip Neri Parish, Pennsburg, PA, there will be at least one paragraph of "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility." This will continue each week thereafter, until the election.
The hope is that by election time, some of the document will be absorbed. In late August, we hope to form a short-term discussion group focusing on Faithful Citizenship.
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“Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”: Looking Beyond the Election
By Harry M. Ford
Coordinator of Youth Ministry
St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church Libertytown, MD
spyministry@hotmail.com In years past, the Faithful Citizenship document has tended to focus on narrowly defined election issues, in a fashion similar to a microscope looking closely on one small object. The current “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” is like a telescope that brings our concern about close objects, such as current election issues, into sharp focus and, at the same time, helps to define the boundaries of more distant and yet unclear issues. The bishops have given us a document that provides a solid foundation and a working framework from which to discuss and discern appropriate responses to a wide range of issues. This document does this by informing and challenging us in many ways. To begin, we are reminded that we are citizens of a nation in which inherent inequities and injustices exist (2) and as followers of Christ, we are obliged to work to eliminate these inequalities and injustices. We cannot be uninformed bystanders of the political process in the search for justice and that participation in political life is an essential duty for every Catholic (57). This involvement requires learning and understanding how the Church desires us to form our consciences. The seven basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching are used as the basic building blocks of forming our moral consciousness. The presentation in the document (40-55) provides a very brief introduction that should lead us to further study on reflection on these seven principles. We are also called to learn more about various documents, from Bishops letters and teachings, to Papal encyclicals, and various council documents, especially those of Vatican II. Participating in learning programs such as JustFaith can provide a wealth of knowledge and formational experiences. Using all of the information available to us by the various church teachings, we can form our conscience to make morally correct decisions based on the consistent ethic of life (40), the central tenet of Catholic social teaching and how it has been applied in the past over a broad range of issues.
To gain an understanding of why this document needs to be made available for all to use to form opinions on issues ranging from local, state and national laws which can impact availability to basic human needs and the dignity of all life, and our response to more global problems such as terrorism, genocide, and environmental degradation. Finally, we must include our youth in this formation process. As they begin to critically evaluate issues and positions, this document provides a consistent and concise foundation and framework from which to work. All of these points and many others point out one clear fact: We cannot think of “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” as a short-term document, but the lens through which we are continually challenged to evaluate and discern our response to critical moral issues.
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Resources for Forming Faith-Filled Consciences
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops provides a wonderful foundation to facilitate our ministry of preparing our faith communities on Faithful Citizenship. The 2008 statement, supported by the US Bishops, is more expansive than previous versions and fully integrates Catholic Social Teaching Principles. Items for consideration: - The Challenge of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
36-page pamphlet @ $1.95; also available in Spanish. - Bulletin insert
(package of 100; includes CST principles on reverse side) @ $5.00; also available in Spanish. - Faithful Citizenship
DVD @ $9.95 - Communities of Salt & Light (pamphlet)
These resources are available online at http://www.usccbpublishing.org/. In parishes, we need to promote Faithful Citizenship. These resources can be helpful for forming our own consciences. The Center of Concern in Washington, DC has two papers, Election 2008: Voting the Common Good and A Vision for Engaging: Election 2008, as part of their initiative to help individuals participate actively in the current political campaigns as an informed and faithful Christians. These resources are available online at http://www.coc.org/election2008 and http://www.educationforjustice.org/. NETWORK, the Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, has an award-winning magazine, Connection. Recent cover stories of interest include “Iraqi Refugees: An Unfolding Crisis” and “The People’s Mandate – A New Direction”. This resource is available online at http://www.networklobby.org. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has a twelve-page pamphlet, Voting for the Common Good; A Practical Guide for Conscientious Catholics for those who wish to vote their faith and consider political matters from a Catholic social teaching perspective. This election guide is also an educational resource and is available online at http://www.catholicsinalliance.org Orbis Books published a 134-page book about the upcoming election, The Catholic Vote; A Guide for the Perplexed by Clarke E. Cochran and David Carroll Cochran. Based on the Catholic values of life, dignity, solidarity, and proper stewardship, this resource is available online at http://www.orbisbooks.com. Maryknoll magazine’s February 2008 cover story “The Catholic Vote, A Global View” message reminds us to learn how that what happens in the US voting process has a huge impact on the rest of the world. This resource is available online at http://www.maryknollmagazine.org. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns has materials available on the upcoming election, including an eight-page document, “Loving Our Neighbor in a Shrinking World” available in PDF. This resource is available online at http://www.maryknollogc.org. The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas have a teaching tool, Election 2008: A Practical Resource available in PDF. This non-partisan document (PDF file) is a reflection guide on the issues confronting us. This resource is available online at http://www.sisterofmercy.org. Vision and Voice encourages communities of faith to raise their vision and voice. To learn more about their ecumenical, four-session adult education series and bringing an important perspective to the transformation of U.S health care, visit http://www.visionandvoice.org/.
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Sunday Bulletin Quotes: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
“For many years, we bishops of the United States have sought to share Catholic teaching on political life. We have done so in a series of statements issues every four years focused on ‘political responsibility’ or ‘faithful citizenship.’ …. We continue that practice, maintaining continuity with what we have said in the past in light of new challenges facing our nation and the world. This is not new teaching but affirms what is taught by our Bishops Conference and the whole Church. As Catholics, we are part of a community with a rich heritage that helps us consider the challenge in public life and contribute to greater justice and peace for all people.” (# 3) “The Church’s obligation to participate in the shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith. It is a basic part of the mission we have received from Jesus Christ, who offers a vision of life revealed to us in Sacred Scripture and Tradition.” (# 9) “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights – for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture – is fake and illusory if the right to life, the most fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”
- Christifideles Laici, no 38. Pope John Paul II “Care for the earth and the environment is a moral issue. Protecting the land, water and air we share is a religious duty of stewardship and reflects our responsibility to born and unborn children, who are most vulnerable to environmental assault. Effective initiatives are required for energy conservation and the development of alternate, renewable and clean-energy resources. Our Bishops Conference offers a distinctive call to seriously address global climate change, focusing on the virtue of prudence, pursuit of the common good, and the impact on the poor, particularly on vulnerable workers and poorer nations. The US should lead in contributing to the sustainable development of poorer nations and promoting greater justice in sharing the burden of environmental blight, neglect and recovery.” (#87) “A more just world will likely be a more peaceful, a world less vulnerable to terrorism and other violence. The US has the responsibility to take the lead in addressing the scandal of poverty and underdevelopment. Our nation should help to humanize development, addressing its negative consequences and spreading its benefits, especially among the world’s poor. The US also has a unique opportunity to use its power in partnership with others to build a more just and peaceful world.” (# 88) “Once again we deem it opportune to remind our children of their duty to take an active part in public life, and to contribute towards the attainment of the common good of the entire human family as well as to that of their own political community.”
- Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, 1963 “Those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere.”
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2448) “As Catholics, we are led to raise questions for political life other than ‘Are we better off than we were two or four years ago?’ Our focus is not party affiliation, ideology, economics, or even competency and capacity to perform duties, as important as such issues are. Rather, we focus on what protects or threatens human life and dignity.”
(# 89) (All quotes are from U. S. Catholic Bishops Statement: “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship unless otherwise noted.)
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