Is the dialog between bishops and politicians something new? Recent political campaigns seemed to highlight and even encourage tension between some candidates, their political positions and Church teachings. Many cannot remember a time in which American Catholics found themselves so divided by political issues that had clear moral implications.

Does the Church have a right and/or duty to enter into such discussions?

In 1891, Pope Leo XIII wrote the groundbreaking encyclical, Rerum Novarum, in which he declared that it was the obligation of the Church to bring her moral voice into the public square. The pope defended those who were victims of an industrial revolution and a laissez faire capitalism that treated people as objects and just as quickly tossed them aside when they were no longer useful.

Leo thus began a tradition that has resulted in more than 100 years of papal teaching and 12 Church documents that have examined the right and duty of the Church to bring her powerful voice and Christian vision into politics to demand justice for all people but especially the poor and marginalized.

In their 1987 pastoral, Economic Justice for All, the American bishops challenged the Catholic community to make its faith visible in society: "Our faith is not just a weekend obligation, a mystery to be celebrated around the altar on Sunday. It is a pervasive reality to be practiced every day in homes, offices, factories, schools, and businesses across our land. We cannot separate what we believe from how we act in the market place of the broader community…" (p. 25).

In the same pastoral the bishops made it clear that they take seriously their obligation to encourage all Catholics to participate in the political arena: "This letter is a personal invitation to Catholics to use the resources of our faith, the strength of our economy, and the opportunities of our democracy to shape a society that better protects the dignity and basic rights of our sisters and brothers, both in this land and around the world" (p. 1).

Catholic teaching offers us several reminders about the importance of politics and our moral obligation to participate in building a just society. Stated simply, Catholic teaching on social justice reminds us that society and political choices are not about 'me' they are about 'us.'

1. There is no distinction between the obligation to be a good citizen and the desire to be a good Catholic. All Catholics who are citizens of this country should want to participate in the political processes to the extent they are able. If we are not part of the solution then we become part of the problem. There are no acceptable excuses for buying out of one's opportunity to vote in public elections on every level.

Jesus himself, in the Gospel of Luke proclaims his personal mission as "bringing the good news to the poor." He makes it clear that the "good news" cannot be limited to a verbal message. The parable of the good Samaritan tells us that Christians are called to be "neighbor" to all their sisters and brothers. The parable of the final judgment reminds us of the truth that God is present in everyone and that "whenever you neglect the least of your brothers or sisters, you neglect me."

Jesus' statement, "Give to Cesar that which is Cesar's and to God that which is God's," is misinterpreted if one understands it to mean that Christians should confine their concerns to "religion" and stay out of the political arena.

2. The goals of politics and of the moral life overlap. When politicians are at their best they aim their efforts at two things: equal justice under the law for everyone, and ensuring the common good. Catholic morality also has two main foundations, an unwavering understanding of every person as having been created as the image of God (imago Dei) and the commitment to the common good.

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that justice is at the center of the moral virtues. Like Aristotle, he reminds us that justice is primarily about the relationships between citizens. So, if just laws provide an objective measure of a truly just society, then Catholics cannot absolve themselves lightly from participating actively in the political life of society. Again the bishops have articulated six moral principles by which Catholics can judge political decisions:

---Every decision must be judged in light of whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person.
--- Human dignity can be realized and protected only in community.
---All people have a right to participate in the life of society.
---All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable.
---Human rights are the minimum conditions for life in society.
---Society as a whole, acting through public and private institutions, has the moral responsibility to enhance human dignity and protect human rights.

In his 1971 document, Justice in the World, Pope Paul VI states: "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation."

It is the best of the Catholic vision that politics and faith are not at odds, but rather, walk together, working for a truly just society. In the end, a Catholic who fails to be a part of the political process is failing to do what they can to ensure justice and the common good.

3. Catholics are called to bring their faith to politics, not their politics to their faith. Why do we have two hands and two eyes? So that every morning we can have the daily paper in one hand and the Bible in the other and we can use the lens of our faith to read and respond to the signs of the times. Catholics cannot confine their faith lives to the inside of the Church, nor only to issues from centuries past. Ours is a living faith and we are called to bring a vibrant faith into society and shine the truth of the faith onto the questions of contemporary society.

Unfortunately it seems that there are some who look at the Church and her teachings through the lens of their politics, rather than the other way around. So-called "cafeteria Catholics" can be found on both the political left and the political right, and use the same methodology: If the Church's teachings seem at odds with their political conclusions then it must be the Church that needs to shift. It is at this point that we can hear some of the more common shouts --- Get the Church out of my bedroom, and Why can't those bishops stop talking about the death penalty and immigrants?

In the end, the Church cannot be Church unless it brings its voice into society on behalf of every child of God and seeks to protect all God's people from the moment of conception until natural death.

4. Catholics must follow their conscience in their political choices. The Church has constantly made it clear that the well-formed conscience must be followed. Thus Catholics must take every opportunity to learn all they can about political issues and Church teaching, so to be both a well-informed citizen and a well-informed Catholic.

As Catholics we bring our absolute commitment to the consistent ethic of life, our defense and promotion of marriage, and our commitment to the defense of human rights as foundations for making a conscientious choice. Every Catholic measures their vote against their commitment to life, justice and the common good.

Vincentian Father Richard Benson is academic dean and professor of moral theology at St. John's Seminary, Camarillo. His column appears monthly in The Tidings.