A lifelong member of St. Joachim Catholic Church in Pittsfield shares her perspective on the 2020 election.
To MaryAnn Lippert, both Catholics and U.S. citizens have a civic duty to vote, and separation of Church and State can be a challenge when it is deeply embedded in her core.
"For me, my Catholicism is really a foundation of who I am as a person and so . . . it's very difficult for me to separate the secular duty of voting from the values that I have growing up Catholic and still being a practicing Catholic," Lippert said.
People were put on this earth for a reason, she says, and Lippert doesn't want people living in poverty or difficult situations. To her, the economy is also something that Catholics should care about.
"Do Catholics care about business?" she asked. "I feel that we're blessed to live in the best country in the world. It's built on capitalism. Sure, capitalism has flaws but really our system is such so that people can be successful and businesses employ people, businesses create wealth. They create wealth for the owners, absolutely, but they also create wealth for the employees. I believe that, yes, we do need to be concerned about the economy and health of the businesses."
Although a strong economy is vital to our nation's prosperity, it isn't as important as issue for Lippert as the right to life.
"Life issues are of paramount importance to me, definitely life in the womb as well as the end of life," she said. "I believe we do have a duty to care for folks on this earth but I believe if they're not given the right to live in the first place, all those other [issues], immigration, health care, all those other things are moot points if a soul does not exist. So I'm very much a pro-life voting Catholic."
Lippert is the owner of MaryAnn Lippert Consultant, LLC. She previously worked in the Office of the Secretary for the State of Wisconsin's Department of Children and Families.
Alerts Sign-up