Bishop Ricken Stumping for Romney-Ryan
Bishop David L. Ricken of the Green Bay Diocese in a recent email to his parishioners called on them to vote on the basis of a set of issues he has chosen to suggest Jesus would vote Republican.  Does this make being a Christian Democrat a mortal sin?

The bishop is being dishonest, because he is selling a partisan position, not reflecting the call to engage with love as articulated by the Bishops collectively in Faithful Citizenship.  His confusion of moral leadership with advocating his own preferences reminds me again why I am so impressed with the humility and sacrifice of the Sisters on the Bus. 

The bishop is cherry picking from Catholic Bishops’ statement Faithful Citizenship to campaign for a position inconsistent with that statement, indeed inconsistent with the life of Jesus.  Not because Jesus would vote Democratic (though an equally strong case can be made...and this is where we are called to exercise our conscience rather than bleet behind Biship Ricken to exercise his conscience), but because the call to live like Jesus as expressed in Faithful Citizenship makes great pains to not confuse this calling with a moral obligation to support any particular party…which is precisely what the bishop knowingly does here.

Here is what Faithful Citizenship says about our obligation to heed our conscience.

“Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. Our faith does not ask us to be one issue voters. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-informed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods.”

In addition to saying that church leaders should stay out of partisan politics, in Faithful Citizenship the bishops collectively note that “Catholics may choose different ways to respond to compelling social problems, but we cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through morally acceptable means, so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended,” contrary to this one bishop’s claim that Catholics must all choose to respond in the same way…to support his preferred party and candidate.

Then, there is question of what a ‘well-formed conscience’ means.  Certainly, for Catholics it means that protecting life is a fundamental moral good, but protecting life means protecting the unborn as well as the already born, opposing starvation due to poverty or death due to war, and standing strongly against capital punishment.  And this is not a partisan list.  The bishop taking this public stand on only some life issues, and not a random selection but a subset that coincides with his preferred party, is morally irresponsible.

Protecting life is a social justice issue that reminds us of the deeply radical and anti-establishment nature of Jesus’ Way, as we see in his own life choices.   We are called to engage, to exercise our conscience, and that calling is trivialized, transformed from a sacred calling to diminished thing, when one Bishop decides it is calling to vote for one particular party.  Shame on Bishop Ricken.  We expect so much more from our moral leaders.  Maybe the Sisters could be persuaded to mentor the bishop on their bus?