Voting Statement

Catholic Volunteer Network(CVN) believes it is important to offer the statement and resources below. This has received considerable attention from the CVN board and staff. We hope your programs, staff, and volunteers find it helpful.

CVN Voting Statement

We recognize that this is a year unlike any other. For many CVN partners and volunteers across the globe, this may be your first national election. For those of us with the privilege to vote, we have the responsibility to use that power in the service of our national community. As CVN members and volunteers, many of you work to serve communities on the margins whose dignity has been denied. We encourage you to endeavor in remembering the lessons, stories, and individuals whose lives have impacted you as you discern using your power to vote.

Pope Francis has said, “Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good.” As we seek to be models of Christ in our world today, we remember Jesus’ example of serving those in need and speaking truth to power that which is right and just.
Voting is the form in which we work towards restoring dignity and respect for those on the margins. This is the embodiment of serving the common good. We are all called to do this work, as people of faith and as faithful citizens.

Accessing the vote is more challenging than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape by which we exercise this important power. To find out how you can best access the vote in your state use the National Voter Registration Day website to find out how to register or how to request a mail-in ballot.

With God’s help, may the witness of our communities and our vote create a more just world.

Resources to Help in Discernment

 

With you in service,

Yonce Shelton
Executive Director

 

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