Let me preface my remarks today with a quote from the new Catechism, paragraph 2246: "It is a part of the Church’s mission ‘to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it. . . .’"

I begin my homily with this text from the Catechism, because I happen to be the official representative of the Church in this local parish community. Therefore, it’s part of my personal mission at St. Pius X, "to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it." This is not an option for me, it’s part of my priestly mandate. In fact, if I fail to do it, and remain silent on moral matters relative to the political order, I put my own salvation in jeopardy. In other words, my silence on the subject could easily send me to hell. And, quite frankly, I do not want to go to hell!

Does this mean that I intend to "preach politics" today? No, it doesn’t! I will not "preach politics" in this homily or in any other homily I give. But on this day—and on many other occasions—I will preach Gospel morality and personal responsibility as they apply to politics, because that’s my call, according to this verse of the Catechism.

I do it this morning because it’s the weekend before what I (and many others) consider to be a very crucial election in our nation’s history. Experts tell us that the president we elect this coming Tuesday is likely to appoint as many as 4 Supreme Court justices during his term in office. And since the Supreme Court has taken upon itself in recent decades the role of "making new laws" (a role, by the way, that our Founding Fathers never intended the court to have), we can be sure that the people appointed to these positions will either change the moral tide of our nation for the better, or plunge us more deeply into the culture of death. And seniors, let me issue a special warning to you in this regard: If they do in fact plunge us more deeply into the culture of death, pretty soon you won’t have to worry about prescription drugs anymore, because a certain chemical will be mandated for you: cyanide! Unfortunately, you’ll just have to die and make room for the rest of us who are healthier and "more worthy of life."

So how is a faithful Catholic supposed to vote? What principles should guide his decision-making process in the voting booth? Well, thankfully, the bishops of our country have offered us some solid insights concerning these crucial questions. Last year they published a document entitled, Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium. Here are a few noteworthy quotes from the document:

"The Catholic approach to faithful citizenship begins with moral principles, not party platforms."

"Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God. The conviction that human life is sacred and that each person has inherent dignity that must be respected in society lies at the heart of Catholic social teaching. Calls to advance human rights are illusions if the right to life itself is subject to attack. We believe that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death; that people are more important than things; and that the measure of every institution is whether or not it enhances the life and dignity of the human person."

"We wish to suggest some issues which we believe are important in the national debate during 2000 and beyond. These are not the concerns of Catholics alone; in every case we are joined with others in advocating these concerns."

The bishops go on to give a list of these concerns, which obviously should be ours as well, when we’re deciding whom we should vote for in a particular election. The list includes: promoting family life ("family" here means the traditional nuclear family: mom, dad, and children. Unfortunately that needs to be explicitly stated these days.); just wages; education; communications; pursuing social justice; battling poverty; providing affordable health care; caring for the environment and practicing global solidarity (in other words, having an active concern for the problems of our brothers and sisters in the worldwide human family). But number one on the list is PROTECTING INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE! The bishops say,

"Human life is a gift from God, sacred and inviolable. This is the teaching that calls us to protect and respect every human life from conception until natural death. Because every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, we have a duty to defend human life in all its stages and in every condition. Our world does not lack for threats to human life. We watch with horror the deadly violence of war, genocide and massive starvation in other lands, and children dying from lack of adequate health care. Yet as we wrote in our 1998 statement, Living the Gospel of Life, ‘Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human life and dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental good and the condition for all others.’ Abortion, the deliberate killing of a human being before birth, is never morally acceptable. The purposeful taking of human life by assisted suicide and euthanasia is never an act of mercy, but is an unjustifiable assault on human life. In assessing our obligation to protect human life, ‘We must begin with a commitment never to intentionally kill, or collude in the killing, of any innocent human life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled or desperate that life may seem.’"

So, should there be a number one issue for Catholics? According to the bishops, YES! Based on the teaching of this document, Faithful Citizenship, the first question we should ask ourselves in the voting booth is, "Which candidate best promotes respect for innocent human life: the life in the womb, the life of the terminally ill and the elderly?" Now, the sad fact is: neither candidate in a given election may do it perfectly, but our concern should be: which one does it best? The bishops call life, "the most fundamental good and the condition for all others." Practically speaking, this means that issues like education and health insurance and making a just wage ultimately do not matter to people who are dead! Makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Old people who are murdered by euthanasia will not benefit from bigger Medicare payments and a revamped social security system; babies who are murdered by abortionists will not benefit from an improved school lunch program or vouchers. People must have life before they can benefit from anything else on this side of the grave!

When I read today’s Gospel text in preparation for this homily, I praised God—because this is precisely the truth which Jesus is driving home to us in this biblical scene. One of the scribes asks him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus answers, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Thus, in biblical terms, our primary consideration in the voting booth should be: Which candidate upholds these two commandments the most in his platform and in his personal life?

"But, Fr. Ray, almost all the candidates in our elections this year say they love God!"

Right. Which is why the second commandment proves to be the key one: Which candidate best promotes love of neighbor, especially the most helpless and innocent neighbor, like the pre-born baby in the womb?

I say this is the key commandment, because once you know how much a candidate really loves his most-innocent neighbor, you know how much he really loves God. If he really wants to protect that innocent baby, and the elderly, and the terminally ill, then you can take his claim to love God seriously. But if he doesn’t love that innocent baby—his neighbor—then his claim to love God is a bold-faced lie! As St. John put it in his first letter, chapter 4: "If anyone says, ‘My love is fixed on God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar." And, Lord knows, we’ve had enough of those in the political world in recent years.