US bishops approve new issue of voters' guide, 'Faithful Citizenship'

November 18, 2015

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has approved a new edition of Faithful Citizenship, a guide for Catholic voters, after a lively debate on whether the document pays sufficient attention to issues such as climate change and global inequality.

Faithful Citizenship, a bulky 84-page document that was first approved by the USCCB in 2007, has become the focus of criticism before each American election cycle. At this week’s USCCB meeting in Baltimore, several bishops protested that the document—which was being presented for approval with several editorial changes including a new introduction—did not reflect to public agenda of Pope Francis.

Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego argued for a completely new statement on political responsibilities. He said that “the issues of global poverty and degradation of the earth lie at the very core” of the Pope’s teaching on social issues, and these questions are not emphasized in Faithful Citizenship. Bishop McElroy complained that some Catholics will “misuse this document outside this room to exclude poverty and exclude the environment as key issues and say they are secondary,” while placing greater importance on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson agreed that Faithful Citizenship is “not helpful,” and called for the preparation of an entirely new guide to voters’ responsibilities.

A solid majority of the bishops rejected the criticism of Faithful Citizenship, however. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston observed that the document has been updated to include the concerns of Pope Francis, quoting him 25 times.

The document was eventually approved by a lopsided majority.

 

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Further information:

• Catholic bishops revise voter guide after debate over ‘Pope Francis agenda’ (RNS)
• Catholic bishops approve documents on politics, pornography (Baltimore Sun)