Voting in 2006 Part Two
by
Christopher Dodson
Executive Director
North Dakota Catholic Conference
October 2006
Last
month’s column listed important issues that should
guide us as vote in November’s election. This
month’s column discusses each of those issues in more
detail. For more information, see the North Dakota Catholic
Conference election information site at:
ndcatholic.org/electioninfo/
Human
Life
The right to life is fundamental and must be at the center
of all public policy. Abortion, assisted suicide,
euthanasia, and the destruction of human embryos are direct
attacks on human life that a Catholic with a well-formed
conscience can never support, personally or through public
policies.
Abortion kills a child before birth. This is not a matter
of opinion or religious doctrine. It is a scientific fact.
As such, it is never morally acceptable. A politician who
claims to be personally opposed to abortion, yet supports
the procedure as public policy, shows an indifference to
the protection of human life -- one of the fundamental
purposes of public policy.
The
Death Penalty
The death sentence in the federal trial of Alfonso
Rodriguez, Jr. has elicited calls for the death penalty in
North Dakota. Let us hope that the traditional wisdom of
North Dakotans prevails and we do not enact the death
penalty.
Every person is bestowed with a dignity that cannot be
taken away. Therefore, the death penalty is not acceptable
unless there are absolutely no other ways to prevent the
aggressor from doing further harm. In today's society those
cases are "rare if not practically nonexistent."
Marriage
Marriage is a personal relationship with public
significance. It contributes to society because it models
the way in which women and men live interdependently and
commit, for the whole of life, to seek the good of each
other. When marriage is redefined so as to make other
relationships equivalent to it, the institution of marriage
is devalued and weakened.
Immigration
From a Catholic perspective immigration reform must further
the dignity of the human person and the interests of true
justice. Therefore, immigration reform must: (1) humanely
secure our borders, (2) provide a path to citizenship, (3)
protect workers, and (4) foster family reunification.
Conscience
Protection
The right to religious freedom is fundamental. For
Catholics and many others, religious belief means serving
others. For that reason, religious based organizations and
religious individuals provide many public services, such as
health care, education, adoption services, guardianship,
help to pregnant women, immigrant services, and assistance
to the poor.
Elected officials should respect the religious liberty of
religious institutions and the right of religious
institutions to serve without sacrificing their religious
principles.
Help
for the Poor and Vulnerable
The state budget is a moral statement. Through it, the
values of the state are expressed. With it, basic needs of
citizens are guaranteed. By it, the mandate to work for a
just society comes closer to realization. Of particular
concern to the Catholic faithful must be the programs
assisting those who are poor, elderly, sick, imprisoned,
and those struggling with addiction or mental illness.
Health Care
Basic health care is a human right that society has an
obligation to provide when necessary. Too many North
Dakotans lack health insurance and those that have it are
finding it increasingly expensive or limited in its
coverage. Priority concern should be given to the poor,
children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the
working poor.
Help
for Pregnant Women
Our obligation to help those in need includes helping women
choose life for their unborn children. Women choose
abortion because they are in a desperate situation and not
fully aware of their options. North Dakota has joined the
growing number of states that help organizations provide
pro-life alternatives to crisis pregnancies. This program
must continue and be strengthened.
Educational Choice
Education is a basic human right. Since parents are the
primary educators for their children, they have a
fundamental right to choose the educational setting for
their children, whether it be a religious school, a public
school, or home education. Since both rights are
fundamental and essential to the common good, the state has
an obligation to provide the means to exercise those
rights, through financial and other types of assistance.
Funding educational choice is not about taking money away
from public schools. It is about adequately funding all
education.
Economic
Justice
The economy must serve the human person and the common
good. Moreover, work must be respected as a form of
continuing participation in God's act of creation, rather
than just a way to make a living. Protecting the dignity of
work means respecting the basic rights of workers and
owners be respected, ensuring a just wage, providing safe
working conditions, and respecting the right of workers to
unionize and bargain collectively. Economic policies should
also respect the right to economic initiative and the right
to private property, since they contribute to the common
good.
Private property comes with responsibilities for the common
good and God's natural creation. Proper governmental
authorities have the right and duty, consistent with the
principle of subsidiarity, to regulate the use of private
property for the common good and the environment.
Family Farms and Rural Life
The Church's teaching about the importance of labor, the
importance of ownership, the stewardship of creation, a
just economy, the right to food, and, above all, the
importance of families, all come to bear in a unique way on
family farms and rural communities. Public policies should
give special attention to strengthening family farms and
rural communities.
The principle of subsidiarity is increasingly important in
policies concerning rural life. According to the principle
of subsidiarity, which is essential part of a just society,
"a community of a higher order should not interfere in the
internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving
the latter of its functions, but rather should support it
in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with
the activities of the rest of society, always with a view
to the common good." Legislative actions that strip the
local community of its right to regulate and control land
uses can violate this principle.