Radio campaign to urge Catholics to ‘vote their faith’

Chicago, Ill., Sep 21, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Catholic Citizens of Illinois (CCI) will launch a radio ad campaign next month, designed to motivate Catholics to go to the polls Nov. 2 and “vote their faith.”

CCI's aim is “to encourage Catholic voters not to leave their Catholic faith behind when they go into the voting booth, because their vote is a matter of life, or death,” says the organization’s press release.

A series of 30-second radio spots are slated to run in Illinois and in other Midwestern states, reaching an estimated 25 million listeners.

"More and more, Catholics in public life are becoming indistinguishable from other Americans, with growing support for abortion, divorce, euthanasia, and other societal ills," said CCI President Mary Anne Hackett.

"Even worse,” she continued, “a veil of ignorance has fallen over Catholic America, obscuring Catholic lay people's understanding of their faith and calling into question their responsibility to serve as witnesses to Christ in the midst of human society."

The self-described orthodox Catholic organization, founded in 1996, describes its campaign as a response to "Pope John Paul II's call for Catholic men and women to become engaged in the public defense of the faith,” reported IllinoisLeader.com.

The goal of the organization is to bring the voice of authentic Catholicism to the public square.

For more on CCI, go to www.catholiccitizens.org