Required degree of involvement in politics?

[D0UBTFIRE]

I’d like to know if a Catholic has a moral responsibility to be involved in politics? If so, to what degree?

Do we have to vote? In every election? Including local candidates? Do we have to read/watch the news to keep updated/informed? How frequently? Can we ignore politics 100% and never vote? Is that moral?

 

[Carmelite101]

I would have to refer back to Jesus’s teaching on matters such as this: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

When you cast your vote you really should be looking at the big picture. If there are only 2 candidates and they are both pro choice then I wouldn’t vote at all.

Also, I would think it would be hard to become a politician as a Catholic. Politicians have to compromise on ethical issues to get votes. Real Catholics don’t compromise on those matters.

 

[camerong]

This is an interesting question. I think that Catholics have a duty to be quite involved, actually. Our system fails miserably when its citizens are ignorant of what is going on. Its a cheesy maxim “with much power comes much responsibility,” but in a democratic state, its true–freedom to vote comes with responsibility to vote intelligently.

Now, that does not mean you have to spend all day on Drudgereport.com and dailykos to form educated opinions (two political websites). I think the best route for most people is to simply find some intelligent, devout Catholics who they respect, and follow their advice on politics. That’s really what most of us do anyway, whether we follow 25 different political commentators or just one (be it Rush Limbaugh, our politically-active brother, etc). I don’t care much for politics, but I know plenty of devout Catholics who do, and their opinions on political issues are typically both clear and unified. So I vote with them!