Bishop Joseph Strickland: Vote as Though Life, Religious Freedom, Marriage and the Family Depend Upon It

Here are three essential areas that every Catholic — indeed, every faithful Christian — should keep in mind during the election.

By Bishop Joseph Strickland, National Catholic Register, October 23, 2020

Bishop Joseph Strickland Most Rev. Joseph Strickland is the Bishop of Tyler, Texas.

On Nov. 3, a deeply consequential election is being held in the United States of America. In many states, early voting is well underway. I urge everyone reading this column to exercise your right to vote and to do so with a fully-formed conscience and in a morally coherent manner.

Catholics too often succumb to what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council warned of in the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” (Gaudium et Spes). They wrote: “This split between the faith which many profess, and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (43).

Faith and life must come together for Catholics. The full deposit of faith must be guarded, and it must inform every area of our life. That includes our voting. This overriding insight was elaborated upon in 2002 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in its excellent teaching on the Participations of Catholics in Political Life:  …