DEAR FATHER | Church leaders focus on Catholic social teaching during election cycle

In every election cycle, the sole focus of Church leaders is to promote Catholic social teaching. We do not endorse specific candidates, nor do we endorse or condemn initiatives unless they violate human dignity. The stance the Missouri bishops have taken on each of the constitutional amendments is a case in point.

Amendment 3, which will be decided in November, would drastically reduce the number of abortions in the state of Missouri, and so the Missouri bishops strongly support it. While it isn’t perfect — abortions would still be allowed in limited circumstances — it goes a long way toward eradicating abortion. As a result, Catholics are under a moral imperative to vote in favor of it. The Archdiocese of St. Louis’ Respect Life Apostolate and the Missouri Catholic Conference offer information and resources regarding Amendment 3 to help the faithful understand what is at stake.

The Missouri bishops took a more nuanced approach to Amendment 5, which would have eliminated the state income tax and shifted the burden to sales and use taxes. (It failed to pass in the Aug. 4 primary.) In a statement on July 17, the Missouri Catholic Conference reminded voters that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document, “Economic Justice for All,” states that tax systems should be evaluated by their impact on the poor and ensure that those with greater resources bear a proportionately greater share of the tax burden. They went on to say in the statement: “For this reason tax systems that rely heavily on regressive forms of taxation, such as sales taxes, should be approached with prudence because they can place a disproportionate burden on those with lower incomes.” While not mandating that the Catholic electorate vote against Amendment 5, the Missouri bishops urged us to exercise careful discernment, applying the principles found in Catholic social teaching regarding those with fewer resources.

The Missouri bishops chose not to take a position on Amendment 4, which would have changed the state’s citizen-led initiative petition process for amending the Missouri constitution. (It also failed to pass in the Aug. 4 primary.) The new amendment would have required that a citizen-led initiative win not just a simple majority, but also a majority in each of the eight congressional districts. While arguments can be made for or against whether this would have been good for the democratic process in the state of Missouri, the proposed amendment didn’t directly touch on Catholic social teaching in the way that abortion or a disproportionate system of taxation would. For that reason, the Missouri bishops left Amendment 4 to the prayerful discernment of Catholic voters.

Whether we are speaking of amendments, candidates or other political initiatives, we do not leave our faith at the door when we cast our ballots. How we vote affects the unborn, the poor, the undocumented and the moral fabric of our society. We are obligated to vote according to the teachings of Jesus found in the Gospel. Any time we take a self-serving approach, we not only compromise the well-being of others, but we also compromise our own salvation.

Father Scott Jones is the episcopal vicar for the Northern Vicariate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.