8 / 61
vii
Introductory Note
T
he Catholic bishops of the United States are pleased to offer once
again to the Catholic faithful
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizen-
ship
, our teaching document on the political responsibility of Catho-
lics. This statement represents our guidance for Catholics in the exercise of
their rights and duties as participants in our democracy. We urge our pastors,
lay and religious faithful, and all people of good will to use this statement to
help form their consciences; to teach those entrusted to their care; to contrib-
ute to civil and respectful public dialogue; and to shape political choices in
the coming election in light of Catholic teaching.
The statement lifts up our dual heritage as both faithful Catholics and
American citizens with rights and duties as participants in the civil order. First
and foremost, however, we remember that we relate to the civil order as citi-
zens of the heavenly Kingdom, whose reign is not yet fully realized on earth
but demands our unqualified allegiance. It is as citizens faithful to the Lord
Jesus that we contribute most effectively to the civil order.
This document consists mainly of the statement adopted overwhelmingly
by the bishops in 2007, plus certain limited revisions by way of update.
In particular, this version draws on the wealth of papal teaching since
the 2007 version of
Faithful Citizenship
, such as the later magisterium of Pope
Benedict XVI and that of Pope Francis to date. From these great teachings we
discern, for example, messages to the universal Church to attend in a special
way: to the inextricable link between our witness to the truth and our service
to those in need (
Caritas in Veritate
); to our role as missionary disciples, called
forth from the sanctuary to bring Christ to the margins with joy (
Evangelii
Gaudium
); and to the care for our common home and all who dwell in it,
especially the poorest (
Laudato Si’
).
The document is also updated to take account of recent developments in
the United States in both domestic and foreign policy:
•
The ongoing destruction of over one million innocent human lives each
year by abortion
•
Physician-assisted suicide
•
The redefinition of marriage—the vital cell of society—by the courts,
political bodies, and increasingly by American culture itself
H H H