Editorial

Take faith with you into the ballot box

The economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, health care, the Supreme Court and life issues, including abortion. Racism, religious liberty, climate change and immigration. The list of 2020 hot‑button election topics could go on and on. And, like many of you, we, too, felt overwhelmed at times as candidates and their spokespeople crisscrossed the country during these last several weeks repeating and even tweaking messages, looking to gain political support wherever possible.

We’re down to the final days of this year’s presidential election, and although more than an estimated 60 million people have already voted, there are millions of others still waiting to cast their ballots in local, state and national races that many feel could impact our country for years to come.

The Criterion helps carry out the mission of the Church in central and southern Indiana, which, in part, is to promote Gospel-based moral principles that can and should be applied to political issues. That, though, is the task of individual Catholics, not of the Church as a whole. That is why The Criterion and Church leaders focus on moral principles and election-related issues, and do not endorse political parties or candidates.

But we can share resources to offer insight to Catholics and all our subscribers about how faith should play an integral role when they step into the ballot box. It is our hope that the information provided will help individuals form their consciences through prayer and study and assist them in living a moral life.

Thanks to the archdiocesan Office of Human Life and Dignity and Catholic Charities-Social Concerns Ministry, since September our newspaper has been able to offer seven weeks of prayer, study and action as the nation prepared for the upcoming election on Nov. 3.

The effort, based on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USSCB) effort known as “Civilize It: Dignity Beyond the Debate,” asked Catholics to pledge civility, clarity and compassion in their families, communities and parishes, and to call on others to do so as well while preparing for the election. Several of those columns explored the teaching document from the USCCB called “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” which is highlighted every four years leading up to a presidential election to provide “guidance for all who seek to exercise their rights and duties as citizens.”

The Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC), the public policy voice for the bishops in Indiana, hosted three webinars in October to offers voters another resource before they cast their ballots. It too focused on “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” and how the bishops’ document could serve as an excellent resource for individuals to review before voting.

There were also Catholic News Service stories that focused on election‑related issues that we hope offered more insight for people of faith.

The moral and ethical issues we face as a nation are real, and a properly formed conscience can help us use the fullness of God’s truth as we cast our ballots.

We must also remember that no political party fully espouses our Christian ideals and beliefs. And even more important, the Catholic Church is not partisan, it is Christian.

Although some politicians and others in a growing secularist society tell us we must leave our faith in church buildings and cannot bring it to the public square, we strongly disagree with that sentiment. We understand elections are a time for us to demonstrate how faith guides us in all we do.

Angela Espada, the executive director of the ICC, may have said it best during a webinar on Oct. 7: “We cannot put our politics before God.”

May we all use properly formed consciences and represent God’s truths as we cast our ballots.

—Mike Krokos