Posted May 2, 2018

Members of Pennsylvania’s two major political parties will head to the polls on Tuesday, May 15 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to choose the candidates for their party in the general election this November.

In an effort to educate voters, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference gave the statewide candidates the opportunity to make their positions known on key specific issues important to Catholics. The responses of participating candidates appear in the following links:

Pennsylvania’s candidates for U.S. Senate

Pennsylvania’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor

More resources for Pennsylvania voters:

Political Activities Guidelines for Catholic Institutions in Pa. (from the Pennsylvania Catholic  Conference)
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)
Guide to Catholic Voting (from Our Sunday Visitor)
Talking to Kids About Elections and Current Events (from Our Sunday Visitor)

 

A word from the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference:

In our commitment to follow Jesus Christ we must do more than just show up for Mass on Sunday morning, we must bear Christian witness in all we do – in our homes, in our work and recreation, in our interaction with the world around us, and in the public square.

“Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas. But being ‘right’ in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ — the living house of God — then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house’s foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person’s most fundamental right – the right to life.”
– From Living the Gospel of Life, No. 22 with original emphasis (Pastoral Statement, U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1998)

Visit PaCatholic.org to learn more.