As absentee ballot applications for the Aug. 4 primary get sent to all Michigan voters, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages members of the Catholic church to rely on moral convictions in making their voices heard.

All registered voters can vote by mail. Anyone who did not get a form should visit the Secretary of State's website.

Voting and participating in the political process is seen as a moral obligation in the Catholic tradition and responsible citizenship is a virtue. The bishops said that Catholics should be guided by those moral convictions more so than allegiance to a political party, Christ the Good Shepherd Church reported in its weekly bulletin.

The bishops referred to “Faithful Citizenship,” a document that pointed out the issues facing the world today such as racism, violence, poverty and greed are many. Those issues are left unchecked and cannot be reconciled toward the views of the church without participation at the polls.

Disenfranchisement must be taken into consideration, the bishops said, Christ the Good Shepherd Church reported in its bulletin. Catholics that sense no party and few candidates fully share their views and commitment to life and dignity can lead to withdrawal from the voting process.

“This should not discourage us,” the bishops said in the bulletin. “On the contrary, it makes our obligation to act all the more urgent. Catholic lay women and man need to act on the Church’s moral principles and become more involved.”

That can vary from voting, campaigning for a candidate or taking a stronger role and running for office. Those who cannot vote also have the opportunity to extend their views to policy makers. It leads to a call for a renewed kind of politics that bucks the current system.  

Catholic votes were encouraged to focus on several areas that included moral principles than the latest polls, needs of the weak than the benefits of the strong and the pursuit of the common good rather than the demands of narrow interests, the bishops said according to the bulletin.