AUCKLAND New Zealands bishops have urged the countrys Catholics to think critically about how to vote in the upcoming general election, issuing a statement to help the faithful ask the right questions of parties and candidates. In the statement, released on August 11 and titled Mindful of the Common Good Thinking about Election 2008, the bishops remind people that the Church does not instruct Catholics how to vote, nor does it endorse political parties.
There is room for diversity of opinion on which policies, or packages of policies, will help make, in the words of Pope John Paul II, human life more human, the bishops acknowledge.
However, the Church has considerable experience in applying the Gospel to life situations, especially from our long record of providing health care, education and social services, their statement says.
Politics, and elections, can seem a mixture of rhetoric, appeals to personal and special interests, slogans and media hype, the bishops explain, but Catholics are urged to go beyond that.
[T]he Church asks us to consider a different type of political engagement: One [that] is focused on the common good of all members of our society, they say. Sometimes that can mean looking further than our own individual preferences.
The bishops say Christs Gospel, which is about how much we matter to God, can help guide voters.
This is the basis for everything the Church teaches concerning human life and human dignity, right across the spectrum of human life from conception to death, the bishops explain.
The bishops statement reflects on eight major themes: Life itself; family life and the rights of children; economic policies; refugees and asylum seekers; international aid and development; cultural diversity; crime and punishment; and environmental justice.
Pro-life organisation Right to Life New Zealand has endorsed the bishops excellent and timely statement, saying it reminds the lay faithful and people of good will that we are all called to actively participate in the democratic process to elect a Parliament that is committed to a just society and the common good.
The society said people who faithfully follow the election guide will exercise our vote with an informed conscience, promoting a culture of life and opposing a culture of death.
The bishops statement is reprinted in full in this weeks issue of NZ Catholic, available from your local Catholic church
