My dear friend Rocco, writing over on
Whispers, has a piece he wrote as an explanation of another piece he penned for the U.K.'s
The Tablet, for whom he is U.S. correspondent.
The Tablet article is
Fifty bishops say U.S. election is about abortion. The post is
50 Bishops... and Then Some. It is about bishops and the election. The takeaway is
"'that Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
is the teaching that has been approved by the body of bishops of the United States.
"Period.
"Except in Scranton."And the second item is like unto the first and is posted over on
Is It Possible? It is called
"[H]ow to live your own freedom every day". As it pertains to the election, the criteria we follow as Catholics is that given by the USCCB, unless your local ordinary, as in Scranton, says otherwise. For those of us in
CL, we also have
What We Hold Most Dear, which is a set of more specific criteria that is faithful to the USCCB document. It is a synthesis, to lapse into
celini-speak, of
Faithful Citizenship. In fact, Cardinal Seán
posted it on his blog. At the end of the day, as an act of liberation, I was forced to reconsider my own point of view in light of the criteria laid out. Again, it was a free act of personal liberation because it affirmed who I truly am, affirmed my own dignity. I made my choice in the awareness of my destiny. It also helped me, at the end of this overheated political season, to put politics in perspective. I was greatly aided by Sharon's appeal to reason, wherein she applied the criteria we follow in her four part
Reasoning to a Vote. Nonetheless, I benefited from my struggle and I hope others did, too. There are issues, like abortion, that I think we need to attain more clarity as to how to translate our criteria into law and policy.
I have to say that one of the most liberating realizations I have arrived at in my whole life is coming to see that freedom is not an assertion of myself
against reality. Liberation comes by means of following and obedience in the context of communion and companionship. I am grateful for my companions, many of whom I journey with along a cyber path. The kingdom is present here, too!
