c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Today, knee-deep into election hype-steria, I am beginning to see an unfortunate repeat of the events of 2000 and 2004, when pundits, politicians, media and even some candidates for office sought to paint the Catholic bishops as bad guys manipulating parishioners into voting for a particular candidate based on one issue alone.

Already, commentators are pointing to a document from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops _ “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” _ as reason to claim that the Catholic Church is a one-issue-only political interest group.

That simply is not true.

Over the past 30 years, every version of “Faithful Citizenship” has focused on the full spectrum of the church’s concern for contemporary problems and challenges. At the center of this spectrum is the commitment to the sanctity and dignity of every human life _ the only natural center from which to proceed.

The church calls for Catholics to look at the “tough issues.” The church has never issued a guide urging people to vote for one party or another or one particular candidate.

With “Faithful Citizenship,” the bishops call on America’s Catholic voters to judge issues and the candidates in the light of the transcendent truths of right and justice. The current version, finalized last November, is explicit in this teaching:

“What faith teaches about the dignity of the human person and about the sacredness of every human life helps us see more clearly the same truths that also come to us through the gift of human reason. Because we are people of both faith and reason, it is appropriate and necessary for us to bring this essential truth about human life and dignity to the public square. We are called to practice Christ’s commandment to `love one another’ and to protect the lives and dignity of all, especially the weak, the vulnerable, the voiceless.”

Not convinced? Still think that the church is trying to slant people only to the abortion issue? How about this?

The Catholic bishops have spoken out against the war in Iraq and called on the U.S. government to begin the transition toward peace. They have called on the government to find a permanent and solid solution to adequate health care for the poor. They seek fair living wages for all workers and for access to decent, affordable housing. They seek an end to the death penalty, racism and torture _ acts that never can be justified. It’s all in “Faithful Citizenship.”

If there is a one-issue focus at work here, it is this: All human life matters.

Too often, politics is a contest of powerful interests, partisan attacks and nano-messages. The bishops call for a different kind of examination: one shaped by moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignity of every human being, protection of the weak and vulnerable, and the common good.

That is an agenda that transcends political parties and campaign promises.

I have a problem with pundits, candidates and even the average person bristling when a bishop speaks about the need for Catholics to make decisions about political issues based on the centrality of the dignity of human life. Political parties censure their members all the time for not toeing the line. The members comply, and no one complains.

But when a bishop reminds Catholics to reach back into their faith when deciding issues or accepting the responsibility of public life, the clamor of false indignation is deafening.

Rather than damn the bishops, as some critics would, for “Faithful Citizenship,” I urge everyone _ Catholics and non-Catholics alike _ to read the document and learn for themselves that it is a responsible challenge to look for the higher values in political life today.

Isn’t this what America is all about?

(John J. Myers is the archbishop of Newark, N.J. This column originally appeared in the Star-Ledger of Newark.)

KRE/CM END MYERS

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