Urge taking faith into voting booth

"Our faith should guide us" in choosing candidates for public office, said Kathleen Gallagher, associate director of the New York State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's bishops. "We should take our Catholicity into that voting booth."

But choosing to cast a ballot for a particular candidate can be a frustrating experience for Catholics, Mrs. Gallagher noted, because "people think Catholic positions are clear-cut. They're not. They're very nuanced."

Life ethic

Instead, she explained, Catholics need to remember Church social teaching and the Church's "consistent life ethic" of the dignity of life from conception to natural death.

The same is true for those who choose another issue -- for example, the environment or the welfare-to-work transition -- and make it their only reason for choosing one candidate over another.

"The primary issue is human life, but you have to look at all these other issues -- like where the candidates are proposing to put incinerators -- and how these issues affect life," Mrs. Gallagher said.

Still, she added that the abortion issue can be a good starting place for voters in learning about those running for office, since most candidates have taken a position in the partial-birth abortion debate.

Education

"We need educated voters -- people who aren't just going by sound bytes, but look at [candidates'] behavior," he declared. He recommended such religious magazines as Sojourners and Commonweal to Catholics who want to gain insights into issues of concern.

Bishops' ideas

Mrs. Gallagher also hopes to see more education from the pulpit and through Catholic schools. "We need to use every resource at hand," she said.

Social justice

"I like justice kinds of issues: whether someone's views represent narrow self-interest, whether they're for social justice," he said.

Mrs. Gallagher told The Evangelist that "character counts. Catholics should certainly look at character, morals and values, because they're going to reflect on public policy."

Both officials gave a thumbs-down to campaigning that attacks opponents and to what Mr. Murphy called "bland politicking -- where you don't find out what people really believe."

He noted that because media outlets are often owned by large corporations, their reporting on politicians' campaigns can be limited to "safe issues" like candidates' promising to cut taxes.

"I think people need to look further," he said.

Consumer vs. citizen

Voters, said Mr. Murphy, need to ask, "What's for the common good?" Not simply, "What's in my self-interest?"

He remarked that "I'm not very much for telling other people how to vote. I'm in favor of people being individual thinkers and voters."

Mrs. Gallagher noted: "We can thank God [that He] gives us the free will to vote for the candidate of our choice."

(10-22-98) [[In-content Ad]]