Cardinal George on Catholics in Political Life

Still more on issue of Catholics in political life, from Chicago's Cardinal George. Here are (just a) few interesting paragraphs:

The Church’s moral teaching therefore shapes a believer’s conscience as he or she participates in political life. Both officeholder and voter, if they profess the Catholic faith, evaluate their political choices in the light of that faith. Nevertheless, the faith is not sectarian; it supports moral positions in matters of life and death, war and peace, wealth and poverty that can be come to by people of no faith, positions that rely upon the light of right reason.

Catholic concern for the defense of human life, the safeguarding of global peace, the protection of the poor and similar concerns construct what Catholic moral teaching calls “the common good.” It’s a phrase that captures what the preamble to the United States Constitution speaks of when explaining the purpose of the federal union: to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty.”

Rick