At the November 2007 meeting of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the whole body of bishops overwhelmingly approved a document aimed at helping Catholics analyze the positions of candidates for public office through a process that focused on the formation of a true and properly informed Catholic conscience. “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” built on the quadrennial effort of the U.S. bishops since 1976 but developed the initiative in important new ways. What began as a check list of bishops’ conference positions on any number of subjects 30 years ago has become a more careful and nuanced teaching instrument that seeks first to educate Catholics and other interested parties about the role of the Church in society, along with the responsibility of Catholics to participate in public life and our duty to form our consciences according to the teaching of the Church. Thus, our decisions will be based on the truth about the human person and the common good. “Forming Consciences” is a good document and should prove helpful for Catholic and non-Catholic Americans alike who are serious about applying principles based on truth to the political choices we are being called to make.

In our diocese, we have scheduled a day of reflection which will be led by Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., on Sunday, September 28 at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip. This day will include workshops on various topics and is open to all who are interested. Check the diocesan Web site for details, www.drvc.org. In addition Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and I are offering two Clergy Days to the priests of our dioceses on the same text. These will be held at St. Agnes Cathedral September 17 and 18. I am hopeful that the majority of our priests will be able to make one of those two days.

Last week I received a book just published by a friend of mine, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver. Entitled “Render unto Caesar,” its subtitle gives a good glimpse of its contents. “Serving the nation by living our Catholic beliefs in political life” is a call to analysis, reflection and action based on an informed conscience. Dedicated to the memory of our third bishop, James McHugh, Archbishop Chaput’s book is a remarkably helpful book that I readily recommend to any and everyone who would like a well-written and informed guide to understanding our responsibility in American political life today. As I told him in a recent letter, he offers to every American a clear and cogent presentation of the Church’s positive and necessary role in public life and in our American society. Even more he gives all Catholics an interesting and readable primer on our responsibility and how we should exercise that responsibility in American society for the good of our country and the common good of all.

What he asks of every community and what he insists lies at the basis of the Church’s role is institutional coherence. How do we choose and how do we act in ways that maintain the inner meaning and truth of the Church and of the society in which we live? What happens if we do not live up to our ideals? What are the consequences for the Church and society if the Church does not speak the word of truth about the human person and the good of society based on a deep and coherent understanding of human life, dignity, values and meaning?

The temptation to fudge and compromise is always a strong one. It is particularly so when the teaching of the Church is at odds with the majority viewpoints of our neighbors or the predominant positions of the cultural elites. We American Catholics who have “come of age” in the latter part of the 20th century can be distracted from the teaching of the Church by becoming so very comfortable in the majority opinions of the media and our neighbors.
Then there is the attempt by an ever greater number of political leaders and pundits to marginalize the Church and reduce her teachings based on the truth about the human person to a kind of “private opinion” that is all right for an individual but that has no right to speak in the public square. Archbishop Chaput deftly refutes this attempt to dismiss the truths of the Church and reasserts with logic and common sense the proper role of the Church to intervene in public debate and to bring the truth about the human person in society into public debate.

With a kind and calm gaze, the archbishop examines Catholic politicians who do not support the truth about the sanctity of human life, about Catholics who conveniently overlook the priority of the sanctity of human life and of the consequent baleful state of our society because of this indifference, and even hostility, to human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death and every moment in between.

When asked about voting for a “pro-choice candidate,” the archbishop is clear and unambiguous. He answers, “I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t.” Bravo, archbishop! You are right, and I join you with the hope that more and more Catholics will see the incoherence of Catholics who seek to be faithful to the truth, faithful to the Church and yet time and again make exceptions in the political world on the most fundamental right, the right to life.

Please don’t think this is a “one issue” book. It is not. It is a serene and hopeful essay on how we can make a contribution to building a better America in collaboration with all our fellow Americans of good will and good heart. It is a plea for us to work in harmony with all those who want to see a better society for all citizens, a society whose great gift of freedom is the vehicle for it to make choices that will improve the lives of all Americans and all men and women in the world.

The archbishop concludes his book by saying, “How we live as American Catholics matters beyond our borders … America’s great witness to the world has always been its legacy of freedom … We make the future of our country and our world by the history we create in our actions now. We need to remember why we’re here.”

Thank you, Archbishop Chaput.