Rome, Italy, Oct 25, 2012 / 03:00 am
As the country approaches election day in two weeks, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia is encouraging Catholic voters to place their faith above their allegiance to political parties.
"I'm always encouraging our people minimally to vote, maximally to run for political office, and make sure that they're Catholic prior to being Democrat or Republican and that they put that into practice politically," he told CNA in Rome on Oct. 22.
Archbishop Chaput echoed the calls of other American bishops to have their flocks consider their faith in the voting booth.
"We do believe in the separation of church and state, but we don't believe in the separation of faith from our political life," he said.