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| A Challenge to Politicians and Voters Your one-stop website for Elections 2008 guidance is www.PoliticalResponsibility.com, a special site set up by Priests for Life with information on the Church's teaching on faithful citizenship, and concrete activities to implement. You will find there the information about web-based teleconferences that we will conduct in preparation for the elections, and can sign up to be a participant. These conferences, to which you can listen either by phone or over your computer (with links to follow during the call and download helpful documents), feature key leaders in the Church, the government, and the pro-life movement who will motivate and train you to live out your citizenship faithfully and effectively. You will also find information on early voting. If your state allows this, please encourage people to vote before Election Day (November 4). We also urge Churches to conduct get out the vote drives, helping people get to the polls, and to make sure the homebound fill out absentee ballots. Eucharistic ministers, when visiting the sick, can ask them if they will need one. Churches are also free to inform their people, in a non-partisan way, of the positions of candidates on key issues. We find that this is the most frequently asked question that the laity have. It is a spiritual work of mercy to instruct those who lack information, and we therefore urge the distribution of non-partisan voter guides. Catholic Conferences and dioceses can create these within all the legal and ecclesiastical guidelines. On our website, you will also find camera-ready bulletin inserts and homily hints for the weeks before the election. In this election season, the James Madison Center for Free Speech (www.jamesmadisoncenter.org) and the Alliance Defense Fund (www.alliancedefensefund.org) will respond free of charge to inquiries by churches, pastors, and priests on permissible political activities. On our website, you will also see links to various legal guidance, including from the USCCB. The advancement of the Culture of Life will be affected by this election. Let's work together to elect public servants who know the difference between serving the public and killing the public. After all, if a politician can't respect the life of a little baby, how will he or she respect yours? |
