Faithful Citizenship is the mindful consideration of public policy and voting issues through the lens of the Church’s teaching.
It is also a call to action to become involved with legislative policy and to exercise the right to vote, so as to protect human life, uphold human dignity, and promote the common good.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference has prepared resources to help Catholics reflect on what it means to be a faithful citizen, based on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States.
We invite you to read the 2024 Letter from Wisconsin’s Bishops + Overview of Catholic Social Teaching (Spanish).
Our Call as Catholic Citizens
Politics, for its part, should always be understood not as an appropriation of power, but as the ‘highest form of charity,’ and thus of service to one’s neighbor within a local or national community. – Pope Francis
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) helps to discern which public policies and politicians best embody a respect for human dignity and the common good. This is especially important at election time. As the U.S. bishops said in November 2023, “On these often complex matters, it is the laity’s responsibility to form their consciences and grow in the virtue of prudence to approach the many and varied issues of the day with the mind of Christ.” To form our consciences, the following questions can help Catholics discern who best embodies the principles of CST.