There is no doubt that Catholics will have an important role in the 2008 election. AP reports, such as thing one, are already looking towards Catholic Bishops and trying to ascertain what they will say in 2008.
Things will be quite different in 2008 than in 2004. While G.W. Bush gave a nod to some pro-life policies, in 2008, it is becoming difficult to believe that either party will provide someone with even a nominal stand against abortion. Too many people thought their vote should only be related to issues of abortion, not realizing that abortion is connected to a greater problem which needs to be dealt with; it is a symptom of a greater problem, and not the problem itself. However, if neither major candidate is against abortion, this means other issues, ones many did not want to deal with in 2004, will have to be out in the open and Catholics will have to discuss them and not neglect them this time. This might be a good thing, because Catholics who have been closed to these issues might begin to realize how they relate to abortion.
Archbishop Chaput, for example, reminds us that we should not ally ourselves with any party. As Eric Gorski wrote, Chaput “doesn’t like either political party. To him, neither encapsulates the range of Catholic teaching.”
This is something that faithful Catholics from both sides of the political spectrum need to realize and appreciate. Neither party stands with us. Each one requires us to compromise with them to go along with them.
We must not believe or trust in political parties. We must work as Catholics in our daily lives, and not trust that our vote is the end of our commitment to the world. As long as we focus primarily upon political institutions as solutions (and I am not denying they are needed, indeed, I think we need some stronger institutions for many issues), we will find things in our nation will deteriorate more and more, and there might be a time when everything will entirely collapse in on itself.
Instead, we need to put Catholic Social Doctrine in practice. While it has political ramifications, many which have been ignored until now, it requires us to do more than be good citizens of the state. It requires us to be a holy people set apart, over and above the state, and to show the world what following the truth really means.
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