Examining my role in politics as a faithful Catholic

So when my country seems to be going so far astray from my Catholic beliefs, what am I supposed to do. Do I deny the law of the land to make sure that I am following my faith and moral foundation to the letter or do I sacrifice morality as taught to me by my faith in order to follow the law of the land? or is there a way to do both?

As far as citizenship I am supposed to put the sanctity of life above all things. And I am supposed to take action that coincides with the greater good. This means to care for poverty stricken, end abortion, care for the abandoned, welcoming immigrants and refugees, etc. Obviously, there are areas where my faith conflicts with my politics. So I ponder. I went to the Church for my guidance and was directed to this: http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf

I found many answers there - some that were not easy to see. But, I have never said the Catholic faith was easy to follow. In fact, a faith that does not occasionally make you stretch your thinking would not really be worth it for me. If I'm not being made to stretch my thinking - they are not working hard enough to push me to be the person worthy of Heaven and Eternal Life. We are not perfect - and as long as we are on this earth we won't be. To change and grow takes stretching. Sometimes stretching hurts.

It is the obligation of every Catholic to seek change in policies that go against the sanctity and dignity of life. That is paramount. But to be a faithful citizen we must be citizens and do this without breaking the laws of the land. We change policies by voting, by electing those who will be a champion for life, for the weak and vulnerable, and for peace. We can do this by running for office or supporting those in office who will hold these values high.

As Catholics it is also our responsibility to get the word out into our congregations and communities on what the teachings of scripture, and the Church tell us is the moral and correct decisions. We are bound to first learn what the scriptures say about the issues at hand and then to push for leaders who will abide by that guidance.

I know exactly where I stand on some issues like abortion and not so much on how I stand on things like immigration and the death penalty. But I am making it a priority to find out what the church teaches on those issues and will vote according to my conscience based on that knowledge. This should be the goal of every Catholic. Remembering that the sanctity and dignity of life will be the MOST important litmus test by which to base your political actions.

I believe this to be a good stance to take for every Christian, as it is the duty of every Christian to believe in Jesus as our savior, and follow His example and the Word of God.

In the end, I believe we must follow the law of the land as best we can and make changes to policy in that light. We can do amazing and good things if we will stick together, encourage those around us to do the same and make sure that what we teach has a foundation of faith and truth. Christians are a majority in this country. We can make significant changes, but we have to work together.