By Moe Wosepka, Executive Director
Montana Catholic Conference

The election is over. Our responsibility is not. Electing our leaders is not the end all, it is only the beginning. The goal is to develop good public policy, and that takes time and persistence.

The people we selected to guide our government’s efforts the next few years will soon take their appointed places. I just want to share a couple of thoughts with you on the call Catholics have to participate in the formation of public policy.

A common cry today is that we must respect the founding fathers’ wish to separate church and state, but first, we must take care to understand what that really means. Originally, separation was to keep the state from controlling religion and forcing a state religion on the people. Separation of church and state was never meant to silence those who have moral beliefs. It was never meant to say that we as Catholics or those who are members of any other religion cannot speak out when we discover injustices in the world. Quite the contrary.

The world needs men and women of character to speak out. We need people with strong moral beliefs to assume leadership positions in our governments. We need Catholics to become involved in the formation of good public policy in this nation and state.

As Catholics we have every reason to speak out when we discover an injustice. We hold certain truths as core to who we are. We respect life from conception to natural death. We oppose abortion, euthanasia and use of the death penalty. We respect the dignity of all persons. We oppose racism, discrimination and oppression. We oppose direct assaults on human life through genocide, torture and the targeting of non-combatants in acts of terror or war. We promote a preferential option for the poor. We work to provide for the least among us by providing direct services and through formation of good public policy. And we understand that we are not alone, we are placed here with people of various color, religion and background, and we understand that what is done to one of us affects us all, positive or negative. We attempt to live in solidarity with all persons. These are the basic Catholic Social Teachings.

We as Catholics have a duty to be full participants in the public square in order to make this country a better and more just place. And we are called to look at politics as we are called to look at everything, through the lens of our faith. While we are free to join any political party or none at all, we must be cautious not to be guided solely by party loyalty or by self interest. Rather we should be guided by the Gospels of Jesus Christ, and the teachings of the Church, which promote policies for the common good of all persons.

Many of the most compelling moral issues of the day play out at the state level. Commonsense restrictions on abortion, the death penalty and issues related to education, programs to serve the poor, and access to health insurance – all of these debates occur in the halls of our state Capitol. The Montana Catholic Conference will be part of that debate, and you can be also.

Want to know how? Log onto our website, www.montanacc.org and sign up for the Legislative Alert Network. Give us a call or send an e-mail to tell us about your concerns in this next session. And keep watch for more information on Catholic Days at the Legislature in February.

Moe Wosepka is the executive director of the Montana Catholic Conference. He can be reached by phone at 442-5761 or e-mail director@montanacc.org.


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 24, No. 11, November 21, 2008.