BRISBANE archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) is urging Christians to use Gospel values in deciding how they will vote in the Queensland election on February 7.
The commission says they should also see their vote as the first step in a daily responsibility to infuse the social, political and economic affairs of Queensland with the spirit of the Gospel.
CJPC executive officer Peter Arndt said Christians needed to be ‘faithful citizens’ who bring the vision of Jesus to bear on every aspect of society.
‘There is a common belief that religion and politics have nothing to do with each other, and that is right in terms of the Church not giving its support to one political party or another,’ Mr Arndt said.
‘But Catholic teaching says that the Gospel demands that we be active in seeking to bring the life-giving, liberating vision of Jesus to bear on political decisions.
‘Our Church’s Catechism states clearly that ‘to intervene directly in the political structuring and organisation of social life’ is ‘part of the vocation of the lay faithful’.
‘The Catechism says that it is the role of the laity ‘to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice.’
