Dear friends,
While we always seem to be in election season, we really are right now.
First, I wanted to share a quote with you from Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (19):
“The Church is present in the world as a sign of unity for the entire human family. … The Church actively participates in the processes by which society grows and is organized, and she offers her own contribution to the creation of a more just and fraternal society.”
So what does the Church offer to us who are preparing to vote? What is her and, by extension our, contribution to a better culture and country by way of elections?
The Gospel, of course.
But when lived out in this particular time and place, that looks like something.
It looks like standing steadfast to protect and advocate for the dignity of every human life. This is the foundation, because we are each made by God in his own image and likeness and so have a unique, God-given value. Each has a worth that does not come from usefulness, health, wealth, or citizenship.
So we vote to protect the unborn. With well over a million deaths, abortion is the largest cause of death in this country and it isn’t even close, surpassing heart disease by more than 400,000 deaths every year. Every innocent person has the right to life, and to take it from them is a grave moral evil. We don’t kill someone because they are inconvenient or “unwanted”.
We also vote to protect the sick and elderly. Living in Illinois, we are especially aware of the dangers of Euthanasia, an action or omission which of itself and by intention causes death, with the purpose of eliminating all suffering. We don’t kill someone, or help them kill themselves, because they suffer. They should be cared for, not disposed of.
In the cases of both abortion and euthanasia, the Church and her children insist that in our society, we ought not allow bigger, stronger people to hurt smaller,weaker people.
To quote Pope Francis, “If society is to have a future, it must respect the truth of our human dignity and submit to that truth. . . . A society is noble and decent not least for its support of the pursuit of truth and its adherence to the most basic of truths” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 207).
And friends, this is your work.
The laity are called to bring the gospel to bear on the world. While many laity are involved in roles of leadership and service within the Church, it remainsprimarily the role of the laity to advocate for justice, to serve in public office, and to inform daily life with the gospel. “The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society is proper to the lay faithful” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 29).
With gratitude and joy for the days ahead!
Fr. Seth