Peace & Justice

This is the blog of the Commission on Peace and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

We mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. In Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, the United States Catholic Bishops state: Politics in this election year and beyond should be about an old idea with new power--the common good. The central question should not be, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" It should be, "How can ‘we'--all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable--be better off in the years ahead? How can we protect and promote human life and dignity? How can we pursue greater justice and peace?"

To help us answer those questions, the bishops have a number of resources available here.
We hope you will find the resources available here helpful. They are designed to help you learn, share, and act on Catholic teaching about how our faith can and should shape our choices and opportunities as citizens, so that we can build a world more respectful of human life and dignity and more committed to justice and peace.

Every four years since 1976, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement on the responsibilities of Catholics to society. The purpose of the statement is to communicate the Church’s teaching that every Catholic is called to active and faith-filled citizenship, based upon a properly informed conscience, so that each disciple of Christ publicly witnesses to the Church’s commitment to human life and dignity with special preference for the poor and the vulnerable.

Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility was approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee in September 2003. With the release of the statement, the bishops are launching a major campaign to share this important message. To help Catholics learn more about our responsibilities in public life, and to help dioceses and parishes share this teaching, the USCCB has produced a brief brochure summarizing the statement as well as a video outlining its message. In January 2004, Faithful Citizenship resource kits were mailed to dioceses and parishes across the United States. This web site contains the contents of the parish kits as well as a wide range of additional resources, including liturgical and homily ideas, education materials and lesson plans for various age groups, and information on conducting non-partisan voter registration and education programs.