Lansing Update:
Putting on the Mind of Christ Before Voting
Posted October 11, 2024
A Catholic Approach to Voting, Part One: Putting on the Mind of Christ
With the election quickly approaching, Michigan Catholic Conference continues its voter education efforts to urge the faithful to vote with a conscience informed by the truths of Church teaching. To further advance this message, MCC will take the next four weeks before the election to republish its election edition of Focus in four installments. The following is part one.
Christ calls each person to be a light in the world. As the general election approaches this fall, Catholics can be such a light by allowing the truths of the faith to inform their voting decisions.
It may be challenging for some to view the election with this mindset, as reflexive support for a particular party and the ongoing level of disappointment with the integrity and suitability of some candidates linger.
Still, representative democracy in the United States requires public officials to be responsive to the will of voters, who have the collective ability to influence candidates and issues through choices made at the ballot.
Catholics can be a light to the nation and this state by allowing the faith to inform their voting decisions.
In short, Catholics have an important role to play each election, including this year, to improve the moral fabric of the state and the nation.
In addition to selecting a presidential candidate, Michigan voters this year will fill one of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats. Other significant races include Michigan’s 14 congressional districts, all 110 seats in the state House of Representatives, and two justices of the Michigan Supreme Court. Voters should also remember the importance of local races and issues that impact counties, municipalities, and school districts.
Voting is sometimes described as a civic duty. Yet, Pope Francis has said that each person also has a “vocation as citizen,” and so voting also takes on a moral dimension for Catholics.
This edition of Focus is intended to help Catholics in Michigan embrace the vocation of a faithful citizen in the 2024 election and beyond. From one end of the state to another, all are encouraged to consider St. Paul’s exhortation to “put on the mind of Christ” before voting.
MCC Column: To Respect Life Is to Protect Life, Beginning at Conception
Among the Church’s social teachings, there is none more important than protecting human life and dignity, which is highlighted every year in October during Respect Life Month.
With both the upcoming election and Respect Life Month as the backdrop, MCC recently published a Word from Lansing column that focuses on two relevant life issues: abortion and in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
Both issues warrant attention given their continued presence in the public discourse, but also because of their devastating impact on innocent human life. Because both abortion and IVF intentionally destroy human life, they must always be rejected and opposed.
To read the column for more about why the Church holds these positions, click or tap here.
The reflection offered by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) comes in response to a growing trend of violent behavior occurring due to political or ideological disputes.
“Political speech is often full of insults, fear, anger, and anxiety. Sadly, racism, religious discrimination, and xenophobia are on the rise,” according to the statement issued by the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “People in public office are receiving more death threats than ever before, some of which turn into physical attacks. About half of Americans expect there will be violence in response to future presidential elections results.”
The bishops quote St. Paul in his letter to the Romans and implore everyone to “pursue what leads to peace and building up one another” by engaging in dialogue rather than violence, with an eye toward seeking justice.
To read the complete USCCB statement on responding to threats of political violence, click or tap here. That statement, as well as a link to the bishops’ Civilize It initiative—which is an effort to promote better political discourse—can be found at the MCC election resources website at cthl.cc/voting.
