The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has launched an initiative to remind voters that we are all neighbors, and discussions about politics should stay friendly during the 2024 election season. Called “Civilize It,” the campaign comes in answer to Pope Francis’ call for “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good,” made in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti.
On the USCCB website, the bishops introduce “Civilize It” by first acknowledging the increasingly polarized nature of US elections, with 2024 being particularly divisive. In a video message inviting Catholics to join the campaign and take a pledge to remain civil throughout the election season, Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, said:
“In our Nation, the need for dialogue is great. In the past year, we saw how the conflict in the Holy Land fractured our cities and split our schools. With elections in November, debates and disagreements will only intensify.”
Archbishop Gudziak, who serves the USCCB as Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, argued that “we can be part of healing the divisions; we can engage in respectful dialogue with the other.”
In this way, we can come together and join in answering Pope Francis’ call for “a better kind of politics,” by making the commitment to “Civilize it.”
To this end, the USCCB has written a pledge that they encourage Catholics of the US to make prior to the November election. The pledge is made under three categories:
Charity
- To affirm through my words and actions the dignity of every person, each made in God’s image. Even those with whom I disagree are made in his image.
- To respectfully listen in order to understand experiences different from my own.
Clarity
- To engage in critical examination to ensure that my perspectives are rooted in truth, that my sources of information are unbiased, and that I do not open myself to manipulation by partisan interests.
- To form my conscience through prayerful reflection, study of scripture and Church teaching, and guidance from reputable experts.
- To reflect on my own values and seek, with others, to identify shared values.
- To be open to the process of dialogue that can require a change of perspective—my own and others’—in service to the inviolable dignity of all and the common good.
Creativity
- To be a bridge builder who participates in constructive dialogue based on shared values, a mutual exchange of gifts, and the humility to together seek the good.
- To see differences in perspective as opportunities for creative tension which can yield solutions for the common good.
- To work with others in order to identify creative solutions rooted in our shared values.
Those who take the pledge are invited to further commit themselves to the initiative by registering with the USCCB to receive updates and emails. Learn more and take the pledge to “Civilize It” at the USCCB.
