As our country approaches Election Day 2016, it is important for us to reflect on our responsibility to be both faithful Catholics and good citizens. We are called to exercise our civic duty by voting while doing so with informed consciences based on the teachings of Christ reflected over time in the Church He instituted.
In preparation for this election, I encourage all Catholics to review Forming Consciences and Faithful Citizenship, a resource developed by the bishops of the United States which provides instruction on how we as Catholics might approach social, political and legal issues in the context of Church teaching. Forming Consciences identifies the hierarchy of moral principles that ought to guide our election choices, beginning with respect for all life from conception through natural death.