Originally published at National Catholic Register
As Catholics prepare to head to the polls on Nov. 5 after a bruising, tumultuous 2024 presidential campaign, Church leaders are reminding their flocks that voting isn’t our only responsibility.
We’re also called to pray for our country.
With control of the White House and Congress up for grabs and sweeping pro-abortion measures on the ballots in 10 states, among other consequential issues, the stakes are enormous.
Urgent prayers are needed to ensure the integrity of the election and ask for the protection of all our candidates, poll workers and fellow citizens, as well as for a just election outcome.
But America has deeper problems that no one election or elected leader can fully rectify. Americans are deeply divided and discouraged. The right to life remains threatened, and marriage, families and religious liberty are under attack like never before.
Ultimately, the remedy for such deep-seated ills is spiritual, not political. It’s why some Catholic parishes around the country will offer all-day adoration on Election Day, including St. James Church in Falls Church, Virginia. “Our help is in the name of the Lord,” Father Paul Scalia, St. James’ pastor, emphasized in a pre-election conversation with the Register.
Archbishop José Gomez of
