ACTIVISM

Who in the Church Should Participate in Political Life?
In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.  Every Catholic has a responsibility to participate in political life, and no issue is more important than the defeat of the culture of death.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Our most dire need right now is to find willing members of local parishes that can reach out to their fellow parishioners.  The most effective way to energize people is through the grass roots.  We need you to be the seed that gets the grass roots growing.

Here’s what we need you to do:

1. Find out who your parish respect life coordinator is and meet with them to discuss how your parish can get involved in this effort.
2. If you are the parish’s respect life coordinator, plan a respect life Sunday with your parish priest.  You may want to use some of the material listed in this website, or go to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and use their material as a guide.  The respect life Sunday could include a homily on the respect for the human person from fertilization/conception to natural death.  It could also include a meeting after mass to help organize and get everyone on the parish on the same page.
3. Consider sponsoring a voter registration drive staffed by respect life members.
4. Reach out to other neighboring parishes and get them involved.
5. Get in touch with us at Colorado Catholics for Personhood.  We are able to distribute campaign material (DVD’s, bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc.) directly to you.  Just leave us a comment on any page and we will get back to you quickly.

TAX EXEMPT CONCERNS

The following comes directly from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website:

Activities That are Allowed and Encouraged

According to the USCCB Office of General Counsel, certain activities generally are appropriate for parishes and other Catholic organizations.

Sharing the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching:
Parishes and other Catholic organizations are encouraged to share the Church’s teaching on the relationships between Christian faith and political life. The Church’s teaching on political responsibility, human life, human rights, and justice and peace need to be shared more widely and effectively.

Voter Participation: Parishes and other church organizations can encourage members to participate in the electoral process: to register, to vote, to become informed on a broad range of issues, and to become active in the political life of the community. Parishes and other church organizations can also sponsor non-partisan voter registration and “get out the vote” drives.

Ballot Measures: Supporting or opposing ballot measures, including referenda, initiatives, constitutional amendments, and similar procedures, is considered “lobbying” activity and not political campaign activity. Parishes and other church organizations can take positions on such measures and work to support or oppose them within the limits of permitted lobbying activity for section 501(c)(3) organizations.

Voter Education: Parishes and church organizations can and should engage in non-partisan voter education. Voter education materials should (1) be consistent with church teaching on political responsibility; (2) cover a wide range of issues important to voters; and (3) exhibit no bias for or against any candidate or party.

Non-Partisanship: The Church does not and will not engage in partisan politics. Pastors may wish to publish the following bulletin announcement in the weeks before the election.

Bulletin Announcement:

We strongly urge all parishioners to register, to become informed on key issues, and to vote. The Church does not support or oppose any candidate, but seeks to focus attention on the moral and human dimensions of issues. We do not authorize the distribution of partisan political materials on parish property.