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Article_Political guidelines for Catholic churches

Breaking News | Friday, October 24, 2014

Political guidelines for Catholic churches

Florida Catholic Conference issues guide for 2014 election year

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TALLAHASSEE | With election day less than two weeks away, the Florida Catholic Conference wants to remind priests and parishioners of their duties and responsibilities in terms of voting and involvement in partisan politics.

Click here or on the image to find the 2014 Election and Political Activities Guide approved by all of Florida's bishops. These guidelines provide information regarding candidates’ appearances, distribution of campaign materials and placement of signage on Church properties.

The complete guidelines may be downloaded, printed and copied, and are available in both English and Spanish on the Florida Catholic Conference website, www.flaccb.org.

Briefly, here is a quick list of dos and don'ts for Catholic churches and organizations.

DOs

  • Do...share the Church’s teaching on human life, human rights, social justice, the common good and peace.
  • Do...highlight the moral and ethical dimensions of public policy issues.
  • Do...urge parishioners to join the party or campaign of their choice and, in the light of Church teaching, evaluate candidate positions.
  • Do...facilitate voter education through the provision of materials produced or authorized by the local diocesan bishop or the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (candidate survey responses, election year issue summaries, and voter information).
  • Do...urge parishioners to register and vote.
  • Do...encourage active participation in “get-out-the-vote” campaigns, and other non-partisan voter education initiatives.
  • Do...take care to avoid partisanship. No diocesan or parish entity or organization shall endorse, oppose or campaign for or against any political party or candidate for public office; nor shall any funds of any such entity or organization be contributed to any political candidate, party or campaign. Judicial retention elections are included under these provisions.

DON'Ts 

  • Parishioner lists should not be provided to any candidate or political party.
  • Church-owned buildings and properties should not be made available to any candidate or party, nor is the distribution of partisan campaign materials through official Church or parish channels permissible.
  • Parish officials should avoid any association with the distribution of partisan campaign materials on Church-owned parking lots.
  • Pastors and Church leaders must avoid endorsements, contributions, electioneering or other political activity when acting in their official capacity. Although personal endorsements are not prohibited, it may be difficult to separate personal activity from one’s role as a representative of the Church. Officials and employees of the Church, acting in their individual capacities on political matters, must make clear that they are not acting as representatives of the Church or any Church organization. 
  • Pastors and others should be wary of outside organizations seeking to distribute voter education materials through parishes. ...
  • Parishes are not to distribute any materials that are not approved by the local diocesan bishop or the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, or made available to the diocese through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
  • The guidelines set forth here apply equally to websites, social media sites and all electronic communications. Diocesan or parish sites must not link to other online sites that support or oppose candidates or political parties.
  • Consult with your diocesan attorney or the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops before posting any political content or links to political content on web or social media sites. 

 

 

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