By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

As Catholics, we see responsible citizenship as a virtue, and thus participation in the political process is not only a right but also a duty. Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Election Day, and as Catholics and as American citizens we should exercise the right and duty of our citizenship by going to the polls and voting.

Our Church rightly does not tell the faithful to vote for any particular candidate or party. As Pope Francis told a reporter on his return flight to Rome from Azerbaijan Oct. 2, “The people are sovereign. I will only say: Study the proposals well, pray and choose in conscience.”

The Catholic Church is not — nor does she want to be — a political actor. However, she does have a profound interest — and rightly so — in the good of the political community, the soul of which is justice. (cf. Deus Caritas Est #28-29). For this reason, the Church engages in a wide variety of public policy issues, including the right to life from conception till natural death, immigration, education, marriage for the sake of the family, poverty and racism, among many others.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and, on the state level, our Florida Catholic Conference, help to educate Catholics and others of good will so that our choices, made with an informedand well-formed conscience, will be coherent with our faith. In doing so, the Church offers a specific moral framework that should guide the voter in making prudential decisions as to who are the “best” candidates — or as sadly happens too often, who are the least “worse” candidates. This moral framework anchored in the Scriptures and expressed in the teaching of the Church — more than mere party affiliation or self-interest — should guide the serious Catholic to examine the candidates on a full range of issues as well as on their personal integrity, philosophy, and performance. In this way, our vote will be an exercise of both responsible as well as faithful citizenship.

For Catholics, the life and dignity of the human person is not a “narrow cause” but a way of life. For this reason, no Catholic should vote for a political program or law that would contradict the fundamental principles of our faith. In sharing our social teachings and highlighting the moral dimensions of the various policy issues debated today in our society, we, as Catholics, do not impose our views on others. Rather, we make our proposal as to what best contributes to human flourishing.

Too often a false understanding of the “separation of Church and State” — one which would relegate religion to the private sphere — is used to stifle debate. To allow ourselves to be silenced would be an abdication of our obligation to bear witness to Christ and would reduce us to the status of “second class citizens.” As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement showed, when religious groups join in public debate, the nation is enriched, not threatened.

The stridency and polarization of politics in America today can be discouraging. We need a new kind of politics — one focused on moral principles, not on polls; on the needs of the vulnerable, not the contributions of the powerful; and on the pursuit of the common good, not the demands of special interests.

Too few candidates share a consistent concern for human life and dignity. And too few citizens hold elected officials accountable by actually exercising their right to vote. All this shows that, as Catholics, we should be more — and not less — engaged in political life. All of us are called to become informed, active and responsible participants in the political process — and to do so by bringing together, coherently and consistently, our faith, our moral convictions and our responsibilities into the public square. On Tuesday, Nov. 8, vote!