Bishops announce Novena for Faithful Citizenship, to be prayed before November elections

Washington D.C., Aug 19, 2008 / 14:27 pm

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is encouraging Catholics across America to pray a novena for life, justice, and peace called ‘Novena for Faithful Citizenship’ before the elections in November.

In a press release from the USCCB, Joan Rosenhauer, Associate Director for the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, explained that this timely novena is a component of "the bishops' campaign to help Catholics develop well-formed consciences for addressing political and social questions."

Additionally, in November 2007, the bishops issued their statement on forming consciences for faithful citizenship.  It states, “Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith."

Helen Osman, USCCB Secretary of Communications, expressed hope that the novena could help "Catholics enter into prayerful reflection as they prepare to vote."

Osman continued saying that the USCCB wants to support Catholics as they weigh pre-election issues and that "providing a prayer resource on the Web can help us focus on our common values and identity as Catholics."

The USCCB explains that the Novena for Faithful Citizenship runs for nine days and can be used "in any way that works best for a community or individual," said Rosenhauer.  This includes saying the novena for nine consecutive days, one day each week for nine weeks, or for nine days prior to the election.

The novena will be available for download until the election at http://fc.mach1media.com/resources/podcasts.

For other Faithful Citizenship resources, visit www.faithfulcitizenship.org.