Fulfill Your Civic and Moral Obligation: Vote!

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What does the Catholic Church teach about medical cannabis?

This is a trick question. The answer is, it doesn’t.

However, voters in Utah – including us Catholics – will have a say in the use of medical marijuana in the state as we cast our ballots in the Nov. 6 election. We also will vote whether to approve expanding Medicaid coverage and formation of a redistricting commission. In addition, the ballot will include three constitutional amendments, a nonbinding opinion question and a host of candidates for various local and state offices.

Out of all of these ballot choices, the Diocese of Salt Lake City is advocating for only one: Proposition 3 Utah Decides Healthcare Act. In the words of Jean Hill, the diocese’s government liaison, Proposition 3 “will have an immediate life-saving impact for tens of thousands of Utahns.” By passing this legislation, she adds, Utahns will be “well on our way to building a culture of life in our state.”

However, the diocese’s advocating isn’t a command. Catholics are free to vote against Proposition 3 if they determine that, in their opinion, the legislation will not help build the heavenly Kingdom on earth. No priest, no bishop, not even the pope himself can tell us for what or whom to vote. They can – and do – say that we Catholics have a moral obligation to vote, but rather than being told to check specific boxes, each of us is to be “guided by a Christian conscience,” to use the phrase from the Vatican II document Gaudium et spes.  

What exactly are the characteristics of a “Christian conscience”? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops addresses that question in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document they publish about once every four years, as the presidential election approaches.

A well-formed conscience is necessary to make correct moral decisions, the bishops state, adding that conscience doesn’t just let us “justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere ‘feeling’ about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil.”

So, how do we form our consciences to hear the voice of God? The bishops say we first need to seek the truth by studying Scripture and the Church’s teaching. It’s also important to learn the facts and background about the issues and people that are on the ballot. Finally, we are to prayerfully reflect on the issues to discern God’s will.

What does this mean for us in this election? It means we have to determine whether the proposed legislation as it is written in all its complexities will in fact contribute to the dignity of the human person and affirm the sanctity of human life. Voting is a moral obligation because through it we seek to affirm the moral truths that shape our lives as Catholics. Will spending one penny per $10 of the sales tax to give health care to 150,000 people serve the common good? The Diocese of Salt Lake City says that it will. You may argue otherwise, but before you do the Church asks you to learn all the facts, then prayerfully reflect.

Before you vote, I urge you to read “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” in addition to learning about all the ballot measures and candidates. The USCCB’s statement outlines very clearly Catholics’ political responsibilities and the Church’s teaching.

In closing, I can do no better than to repeat the bishops’ words: “The struggles that we face as a nation and as a global community cannot be addressed solely by choosing the ‘best candidate’ for political office. No, in addition to forming our consciences, we must fast and pray, asking our loving and gracious God to give us the ability to effectively proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through our daily witness to our faith and its teachings. Let us all take to heart the urgency of our vocation to live in the service to others through the grace of Christ and ask humbly in prayer for an outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit on the United States of America.”

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic.