Earlier this week @GUcstpubliclife hosted a panel with #Catholics explaining their reasons for voting for a preferred presidential candidate in the upcoming #Election2020 . The Atlantic's @emmaogreen explained the importance of the Catholic vote, a bellwether in past elections

"We see, basically, Catholics are split like Solomon's baby between the two parties," said Green, one of several panelists for the Oct. 20 dialogue "Faithful Citizenship: Moral and Political Choices for Catholics in the 2020 Election."

"In conscience, I cannot vote for a man who is the opposite of everything that is humane and Christian," said panelist Karina De Avila.

She was speaking of President Trump, saying she couldn't vote for someone who has "lied by using the pro-life (stance), arguing he's against abortion, yet the administration restored the federal death penalty … and now he wants to take away basic healthcare"

Panelist Mary FioRito said she was concerned with what a possible Biden administration would mean for issues such as the legal protections of the unborn, for religious groups such as the Little Sisters of the Poor and their fight against providing birth control for employees

Of not voting for Biden and running mate Kamala Harris, FioRito said, "They are not neutral on abortion."

the initiative's John Carr said the @usccb's document "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" helped him map out his thinking on making a choice

both candidates have been busy in the last days of the election, less than two weeks away, making their case to the Catholic constituency, particularly in battleground states such as Pennsylvania

Biden made a special appeal to Catholics, touting his religious bona fides and ties to Catholic life in Scranton. Trump on the other hand touted that he’s about to place a female Catholic judge on the highest court of the land.

A poll published Oct. 19, conducted by RealClear Opinion Research and EWTN, shows that 52 percent of "likely Catholic voters" saying they support Biden, while 40 percent said they support Trump.

Carr, citing the guidance of "Faithful Citizenship," said it was important to look at the issues, not at the candidates.
"Biden's appeal is personal; Trump's appeal transactional, what he's going to do for us," he said. "What the bishops want us to be is principled."

With name-calling, bullying, and denunciations on social media, including by some religious officials, the initiative's representative's said they were seeking to let Catholics with different points of view have their say in a conversation unusual for its absence of rancor.

"We think that no one should be written out of our Catholic family for how they form and follow their conscience about how to cast their ballot," said @KDaniels8, the initiative’s associate director and panel moderator.

As soon as I have link to my @CatholicNewsSvc story, I'll add to this thread. In the meantime, here's link to the @USCCB's document to help folks vote in case they haven't made up mind --> https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship-title

Carr said it outlines what the church should be: "political but not partisan, principled but not ideological, civil but not silent, engaged but not used."