(OSV News) ─ Ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, who is also the vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is urging Catholics to pray before casting their ballots.
"This is a matter of prayerful discernment. A lot of times people don't think about the need to pray, to discern before one votes," he said in a recent USCCB Catholic Current video.
"If we Catholics engage in a prayerful, reflective process and we elevate the conversation, we are contributing to the common good of our country," he added.
In an Oct. 24 email message to Catholics in Maryland, he encouraged them to read the USCCB's teaching document "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility" as well as praying the Novena for Faithful Citizenship.
The novena -- a series of prayers recited over nine days for a specific intention -- includes prayers, Bible passages and reflection questions such as, "How am I striving to achieve justice and peace in my neighborhood, church, and nation?" and "Who are my enemies? How do I love them?"
The "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" document discusses Catholic social teaching and how those teachings apply to policy issues. Protection of human life from conception is especially important to consider when voting, the document notes.
"The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone," the new introductory note states. "Other grave threats to the life and dignity of the human person include euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, and human trafficking."
Other issues that Catholics should consider before voting include the redefinition of marriage and gender, threats to religious freedom, lack of justice for the poor, the suffering of people who are migrants and refugees, wars and famines around the world, racism, the need for healthcare, education and care for the environment.
"All threaten the dignity of the human person," the bishops teach.
While both major parties have platforms that espouse significant differences with church teaching, the bishops' website on Faithful Citizenship reminds Catholics of Pope Francis' statement: "We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern."
Catholics also have a responsibility to talk about these hot-button issues with charity and civility, said Archbishop Lori.
"Faithful Citizenship helps us look beyond and behind sound bites and partisanship," he said in his email. "It encourages respectful and thoughtful dialogue in the political process. We can contribute to overcoming the bitter divisions that beset our country through our prayers and example."
Each day, the Novena for Faithful Citizenship begins with a prayer to the Holy Spirit. It concludes with a prayer written by St. John Paul II to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
"Let there be revealed once more in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the redemption: the power of merciful love," it says. "May it put a stop to evil. May it transform consciences. May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of hope. Amen."
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Zoey Maraist writes for OSV News from Virginia.
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NOTES: While the Novena for Faithful Citizenship has no specified start date, Catholics who wish to conclude the novena on Election Day would begin praying it Oct. 28.
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