With the Presidential election in the U.S. just a few weeks away, it can feel like polarization, both in our country and in our church, is at an all-time high. And with the USCCB making clear that abortion is still their “preeminent priority,” Catholics who are concerned about a range of pressing life issues, and who believe in voting according to their conscience, as Pope Francis recently advised, may be feeling discouraged.
Pope Francis hasn’t put forth a voter guide for Catholics in the United States or elsewhere. But he has spoken frequently on some of these key issues voters face today. What if we were to take the words of Pope Francis as an “election guide”? Here are a few ideas from Pope Francis’ writings, interviews, and other messages to the faithful, over the years: A “Pope Francis voter guide” for justice-minded Catholics:
- In the safe of rising nationalist movements, the pope calls us to global solidarity: “The Church without frontiers, Mother to all, spreads throughout the world a culture of acceptance and solidarity, in which no one is seen as useless, out of place, or disposable.”
- Pope Francis also reminds us that an ethical economic system must serve humanity, not the other way around: “Nowadays there is an economy that kills. In the world, in the world economy, we do not find man or woman at the center, but rather the god of money. And this kills us.”
- Pope Francis has consistently been very clear on immigration: “There are those who work systematically and with every means to reject migrants. And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin.”
- On the matter of racial justice, the pope has stated that this, too, is an issue of life ethics: “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”
- When it comes to climate change, Pope Francis has repeatedly urged us to put care for creation above concerns for profit or lifestyle preferences. “If we took the planet’s temperature, it will tell us that the Earth has a fever. And it is sick,” he said in a video message, earlier this year. “We must commit ourselves to … the protection of nature, changing our personal and community habits.”
- On the matter of war and weapons, the pope has spoken sternly about the weapons industry: “It should be talked about and written about, so as to bring to light the interests and the profits that move the puppet strings of war. How can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?”
These quotes and others from Pope Francis, throughout his pontificate, call us as Catholics to promote global justice and peace, to promote an economy that supports all people, to welcome our immigrant neighbors, to work for equality and inclusion, to protect our earth, and to oppose industries that are focused exclusively on creating tools for killing.
These may not always be the messages we receive, however. Many Catholic personalities and influencers have been vocal about opposing the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Happily, many resources for education and spiritual nourishment encourage an approach to Catholicism that is more in line with Pope Francis and the church’s call to advocate for peace and justice.
Here are a few ideas for Catholics seeking to broaden their horizons and enrich their faith:
- Black Catholics are one group that often get overlooked. In fact, there are no canonized Black US Catholic Saints. Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD’s #BlackCatholicSyllabus is a good place to start to learn from those voices.
- Want to hear from one of those Black Catholic voices that could be the first canonized US Black Catholic Saint? Start with Sr. Thea Bowman’s inspiring address to the USCCB and then watch a documentary about her life.
- Already read Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti but want even more papal talk about the environment? “The Letter” brings together the Pope and youth from “Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawai’i, as they” bring perspective and solutions from the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife” to the climate crisis.
- Looking for a challenging alternative to your usual Sunday homily? Catholic Women Preach offers weekly homilies by women from diverse perspectives.
- Looking for something just as inclusive but in person instead? New Ways Minstries offers a list of LGBTQ friendly parishes across the United States.
If you feel inspired to take action after exploring those resources, there are a number of Catholic advocacy organizations that work on important justice issues. The Sisters of Mercy, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Jesuit Refugee Service, and Ignatian Solidarity Network all offer a wide variety of action alerts to help you encourage your elected officials to “hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
And if you’re not convinced that your officials will listen to you, perhaps a final word from Pope Francis on voting is in order: “A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern.”
May we all continue to meddle. May our elected officials govern in a way that promotes justice and peace. And may our politics live up to our best ideals. As Pope Francis said to members of the U.S. Congress in 2015, our politics should be an “expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.”
Image: Pexels/Edmond Dantes
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