p3-rosenhauer.jpgFaithful Citizenship is not a new idea, a United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' official told Bishop George J. Lucas and a group of clergy, deacons and parish leaders who gathered at Villa Maria Catholic Life Center in Springfield on Aug. 22.

Joan Rosenhauer, special projects coordinator for the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, led the gathering and spoke on the U.S. Bishops' November 2007 document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility.

The seminar was planned by Father Joseph Ring, vicar for the clergy, pastor of St. James Parish in Riverton and priest moderator of Resurrection Parish in Illiopolis, and by Sister Jane Boos, SSND, director of the Office for Social Concerns. "Basically the day was meant to focus on the USCCB document and the upcoming election," said Father Ring.

Although the Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship document was released just last autumn, its ideas are centuries old and rooted in the Eucharist, Rosenhauer said. The document took over two years to develop and was written after consulting USCCB committees on domestic policy, international policy, pro-life activities, communications, doctrine, education and migration. In the end, it received overwhelming support from the bishops.

According to the bishops, the church's social teaching is a "rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society." That's why Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship is an affirmation of Catholic social teaching following these key themes: life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of work and the rights of workers; solidarity; and care for God's creation.

"The Catechism tells us to promote the common good and take part in public life. However, we don't think endorsing candidates is the right thing for the church to do," Rosenhauer said. "We always have to be more Catholic than Republican or Democrat. If the party is not with us, then our job is to help change and shape the party." She distributed a document that pointed out the "Do's and Don'ts" for parishes and dioceses when dealing with politics and elections.

In Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship the bishops have offered some concrete guidelines, Rosenhauer said. She recommended that voters pay particular attention to paragraphs 34-37 in the document, which help Catholics make moral decisions when deciding on a candidate.

"The goal of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship is not to turn everyone in the United States into a Catholic," she said. "Our goal is to be persuasive and help illuminate natural law. For example, as Catholics we have to have a preferential concern for the poor. We must respond to the least among us."

Catholics need to trust that the bishops wrote Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship to help today's people to understand and be part of the church and to do the right thing, Rosenhauer said.

"Finally, the bishop's document is designed to help us to form our conscience," she said. "Conscience must be rooted in the truth and it involves work and reflection."

"The long-term application of the day will be to continue the challenge to more fully integrate citizenship into the context of living our baptismal call," Father Ring said. Parish leaders can now use the information Rosenhauer provided to understand "how and what we can do in our parishes as we discern our choices for those running for office."

For more information on the bishops' document, go to www.faithfulcitizenship.org . The Web site features resources for prayer and worship, educational programs, family discussion, social concerns and pro-life committees, along with other groups and ministries.