A STATEMENT BY THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AUSTRALIA FOR THE 2019 FEDERAL ELECTION
Christian faith is not a private matter. It shapes how we live our lives in public, as well as how we relate to God. Politics can be the object of criticism, even scorn, but it is an arena in which we can express our faith and therefore the truth of our humanity.
As citizens who are Catholic, we have the opportunity to participate in the electoral process, to use our voice and our vote for the benefit of the whole community. As bishops, we offer this statement as a way of sharing key points of Catholic teaching that you may want to reflect upon as we prepare for the federal election.
“WE ALL HAVE A ROLE IN PROMOTING PEACE – WHICH MEANS SPEAKING TO OUR FELLOW AUSTRALIANS WITH LOVE NOT HATE, WITH RESPECT NOT CONTEMPT, WITH UNDERSTANDING NOT INDIFFERENCE.”
The ongoing revelations of child sexual abuse have undermined the credibility of the Catholic Church, and particularly the credibility of bishops. We have no monopoly on truth, but we offer these reflections in a spirit of solidarity, as people who also have to consider our vote carefully, who can draw upon a deep wisdom concerning the common good and who are called to care for the most vulnerable in our community.
No political party fully aligns with Catholic teaching, but we can point to clear and enduring principles which can help us make the kind of responsible judgements that allow us to be both faithfully Catholic and authentically Australian. A brief explanation of Catholic social teaching is provided on the page following this statement. [Editor's note: See webpage listed below for this explanation.]
Election campaigns can be fractious; there will be claims and counter-claims; emotions will run high. But despite difficult and sometimes hostile debates, Australia is blessed to have peaceful contests, free of the physical violence known in other countries.
We have a responsibility to present our views clearly and, if necessary, to disagree, while still remembering that all people are made in the image of God and therefore deserve our respect.
Pope Francis has reminded us that “good politics is at the service of peace”. We all have a role in promoting peace – which means speaking to our fellow Australians with love not hate, with respect not contempt, with understanding not indifference.
Start conversations with people you don’t know; volunteer for community groups; go to public events. We all need to be more open, interested and engaged in order to combat the crude tribalism that is infecting Australia and other nations at this time.
Prayer is an essential part of the process of discerning how to vote, reminding us there is a greater truth and allowing that truth to enter us more deeply. Democratic processes stripped of transcendent truth risk becoming soulless, with majorities deciding issues based on power rather than the consideration of truth and the common good.
Our democracy needs the active participation of all its citizens – Catholic or not, religious or not. It’s our responsibility as citizens to advocate for the good of the whole community. We very much appreciate the strong bipartisan support in the federal parliament for both the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse and the National Redress Scheme.
We recognise these as just two examples of the contribution politicians can make to the common good. We also welcome the continued bipartisan commitment to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and look to further cooperation on the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Many families and individuals struggle to make ends meet. The dignity of employment is the key aim, but that’s not always possible for people facing myriad challenges. Charities, including Catholic agencies, make an enormous contribution by providing community support for people facing hard times.
We acknowledge the challenge of helping regional, rural and remote Australians to access adequate health care, ensuring there’s better transparency of out-of-pocket fees and making sure all patients enjoy access to the medical treatment they need, regardless of their insurance status. Australia has a long and proud tradition of Catholic schooling with more than 765,000 students in almost 1,740 Catholic schools.
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Governments must also provide for sustainable aged care services, continue to improve the quality regulatory framework in aged care and provide older people and their families with choice and control over the services they receive. We recognise the human dignity of unborn children and the great challenge many women face when confronted with an unexpected or difficult pregnancy. How can our community support women and their families in creating a more supportive and child-friendly community? What factors are causing women to take the agonising decision of abortion? In grappling with these questions, we remember that no society can be judged healthy when the womb itself becomes a dangerous place.
Australia is seeing an alarming increase in mental health problems, especially among the young. It is also seeing rising levels of violence in personal relationships and families. Resourcing sound social and pastoral education, free of ideological theory, is an essential task of a social welfare state. For more than a century, the Catholic Church has advocated for the value of work, a just living wage and dignified employment conditions, while endorsing the good of economic prosperity. Government policy plays a crucial role in promoting the right economic balance between advancing the dignity of workers and encouraging entrepreneurial creativity.
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These are some of the many important issues for Catholics to consider when voting in this election.
In offering this statement, we want to highlight some principles of Catholic social teaching which may help you consider your vote.
As Catholics, we look to the city of God. This obliges us to take our place firmly and faithfully in the human city that we are called to join others in building. That’s why we take elections and our participation in them as seriously as we do. Politics is by no means everything, but the political process is very much part of building a truly human city that looks to the city of God. Here, as a service to the whole community, we propose key elements of what that building requires.
+ Mark Coleridge
President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
You can read the full text online at :
https://www.catholic.org.au/acbc-media/media-centre/media-releases-new/2186-election-statement-politics-in-service-of-peace/file