As Catholics we are called to be faithful citizens.  We are called to take an active part in our society, to do our part in striving for justice, peace, equality and respect for every human person.  One of our most serious responsibilities is to exercise the power of our vote, supporting candidates and propositions that best work to build up God’s kingdom here on earth.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states that our Church is not aligned with any one party or any one candidate.  No party or no candidate fully embraces the Christian values that we promote.  So we need to form our consciences and weigh all the issues and then vote honestly according to our sincere conclusions.  Contrary to what some may say in social media, we are not sinning by voting for one party or the other or one candidate or the other, as long as we are sincerely looking toward the greater good as we see it. 

　　We understand that it can be frustrating not being totally in favor of one candidate or another or perhaps not understanding the consequences of all the propositions.  But who is in a better position to vote than we are?  So please consider the candidates and look at the issues, and please vote, if not for your own sake, for the sake of our community, our children and our children’s children.  Our votes do matter.  For guidance on principles to consider in voting you are invited to look at some videos and written material put out by the U.S. Catholic Bishops under the title Faithful Citizenship.  These resources can be found on the internet at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.