Teaching How, Instead of Teaching Who
What will be the obligations of the church for the upcoming elections?
Church and state are two different organizations or sectors, but their duties and responsibilities do not differ from each other. Both church and state are leading their people toward an organized and better life. The state is centered in imposing rules and regulations, of its constitutions, or of laws. These laws are the laws made and agreed upon by people and by state. On the other hand the church, just like the state it has the duty in preaching and imposing of laws; these laws are those made by God. The church is the one who is teaching on how to live the law, also it teaches on how to obtain a righteous life living and thinking for the common good.
The laws being implemented by the state will not reach its completion if it will not be translated to the actual life of its people, the same with the teachings of the church it will not be completed if it cannot be seen in the life of its faithful, and in order for this to be done by the faithful, the church herself should take the initiative in showing it to the people on how to do it by her actions and judgments.
The state has its activities which needs the guidance of the church, an example of this is when having or conducting elections. In having elections a greater responsibility was being laid in the hands and shoulders of the church, it [the church] is the one concerned in guiding and promoting to have peace before, during, and after the elections. The church stands neutrally in the middle of all, for it is a non- partisan organization, she stands between one candidate and the other, between one group and the other, between a person and another person.
The church’s duty is to teach people how, not to teach them who. The church will only guide the people on how to choose consciously and how to campaign accordingly. It is her duty in advocating to have a clean, honest, accountable, meaningful, and peaceful elections. In order to attain this kind of elections the church should teach her faithful on how to choose with full righteousness, and purity by making ones vote by using its conscience in voting that will lead for common good which is pleasing in the sight of the Father in heaven. On the other hand it is also her duty in maintaining peace and preserving peace between peoples after the elections, the church must forewarn the people that elections will only pass by, good relations to each other must be developed and maintained or preserved for relation and love to each other is the most powerful above all. Also it is an obligation of the church to let the people realize how important, precious, sacred, and how powerful their votes are.
These things have its great need to be accomplished by the church, for it is connected to the mission of the church in making the lives of its faithful a better one, also as a shepherd of its flock guiding each sheep towards the right path. If the church will not be able to do these, her teachings will lose its meaning and purpose in achieving the common good and in bringing the people toward a holy life.