Bishops Ask Catholics To Pray Election Novena

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invites U.S. Catholics to pray before the November election a novena for life, justice, and peace called Novena for Faithful Citizenship. It is a podcast and available for download.

Joan Rosenhauer, Associate Director for the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said that the special novena is part of “the bishops’ campaign to help Catholics develop well-formed consciences for addressing political and social questions.” The bishops issued their statement on forming consciences for faithful citizenship in November 2007.

Helen Osman, USCCB Secretary of Communications, expressed hope that the novena could help “Catholics enter into prayerful reflection as they prepare to vote.” Seventy-one percent of all visitors to the USCCB’s web site download the free podcasts of the daily NAB readings. These same visitors are encouraged to use the novena podcast for prayer. Osman said that the USCCB wants to support Catholics as they weigh pre-election issues and that “providing a prayer resource on the Web can help us focus on our common values and identity as Catholics.” The novena emphasizes the dignity of life, justice, and peace.

The Novena for Faithful Citizenship runs for nine days and can be used consecutively, one day each week, for nine days prior to the election, or “in any way that works best for a community or individual,” said Rosenhauer.

The novena will be available for download until the election and it can be downloaded online at
http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/resources/podcasts.

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New Web Resource for the November Election

www.yourfaithyourvote.org

The North Dakota Catholic Conference has launched a new Catholic voter education site:
www.yourfaithyourvote.org

  • information for Catholic voters
  • questions for the candidates
  • voter cards
  • events calendar
  • resources
  • film clips
  • parish guidelines
  • and more . . .

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New Faithful Citizenship Site -- with Podcasts

The U.S. Bishops office has launched a new Faithful Citizenship site. It includes many, many resources for Catholics, pastors, educators, and more. The new site also includes podcasts on principles from Catholic social teaching. Check it out.