Election Day Looms: Voting Responsibly

America’s national election is happening on Tuesday of next week. I’m not looking forward to it. But voting is a duty for citizens here, so that’s what I’ll be doing.

Figuring out who and what to vote for — or against — is easy, or really, really hard: depending on how I look at the task.

(Today I’m reposting links — Conscience and Voting: Ethics Matter, Even in Politics — with two new items (Recent statements: Office of Public Affairs). I’ll be back with my regular ‘Saturday’ post on — well, Saturday. It’ll be about Halloween, and whatever else comes to mind.)

Voting, Attitudes, and an Obligation

If I took a “trust your feelings, Luke!” attitude, I might skip voting entirely. Then, as assorted experts, pundits, and analysts expounded on what the American Public was ‘really’ feeling, I could sit back with a bucket of popcorn and watch show.

Or I could seek comparatively intellectual entertainment.

Like a Three Stooges marathon.

But I’m a Catholic. Acting like a good citizen is an obligation. So ignoring the recurrent brouhaha is not an option.

In my country, responsible citizenship includes having a clue about which jokers are running this time, thinking about what they’ve said and done: or not said and done, and that’s another topic.

The USCCB (United States Conference of Bishops) provides resources that discuss what’s involved in voting responsibly. They don’t tell me who to vote for: but do discuss the ethical principles involved. These links were valid on the morning of October 26, 2026:

Conscience and Voting: Ethics Matter, Even in Politics

• “Forming Consciences…” and related resources: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
  • “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” (PDF)
    “A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States”
    • Introductory Note (bulletin insert) (PDF)
• Ideas and applications
  • “The Role of the Church in American Political Life” (PDF)
  • “Dignity of the Human Person” (PDF)
  • “The Common Good” (PDF)
  • “Solidarity” (PDF)
  • “Subsidiarity” (PDF)
• Recent statements: Office of Public Affairs (new)
  • “For Citizens in a Representative Democracy, Voting Is Both a Right and a Responsibility, Says Archbishop Coakley” (October 14, 2026)
  • “Archbishop Coakley Echoes Pope Leo XIV’s Appeal for Renewed Dialogue Amid Rising Tensions in the Middle East” (March 1, 2026)
• Prayer, process, and good ideas
  • Novena for Faithful Citizenship
  • 3 Ways to Support Peaceful Elections
  • 5 Tips from Pope Francis for “a Better Kind of Politics” (PDF)
    (we’re not all the same, and that’s okay)
  • Adult Education and Small Faith Community Sharing On Faithful Citizenship
  • Contacting Your Elected Officials (PDF)
    (not contact information, but how to communicate once you’ve found addresses and numbers)
  • Do’s and Don’ts Guidelines During Election Season”
  • What does it mean to form my conscience?” (PDF)

I posted that resource list back in mid-August, but figured reposting it a week before the election couldn’t hurt. Might even help.

Faith That Matters

I’d go on about freedom, responsibility, and other inconveniences. But I’ve talked about that sort of thing before. Recently:

• “Voting, Voter Resources, Faith, and Me” (August 15, 2026)
  • Faith and Citizenship
• “Politics, Poppycock, and a Mess in Minnesota” (January 31, 2026 )
  • Political? No! Perturbed? Yes
    • Out of Step With The Establishment: Five Decades and Counting
  • It’s (Not) Simple
    • Labels, Attitudes, and America: Then and Now
    • Bogeymen
    • Acting as if Humans are People
• “Satan, Sin, Politics, and Making Sense Anyway” (January 3, 2026)
  • Theology, Slogans, and Human Nature
• “Building a Civilization of Life and Love, One Mind at a Time” (November 15, 2025)
  • Justice, Charity, Respect: Sounds Good to Me
• “Veterans Day and Patriotism” (November 11, 2025)
  • Love of Country, Yes; Worship of Country, No
  • Freedom, Responsibility, and Other Inconveniences