|
The
serious business of voting
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2240), voting
is a civic responsibility that urges the conscientious citizen to put
the good of society (common good) above his or her immediate desires and
needs. President John F. Kennedy was sharing the Catholic mindset when
he challenged: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you
can do for your country.” The important question from a Catholic
perspective is not whether you and I are better off today than we were
four years ago, but whether the needs of the weakest and the most
defenseless among us are being addressed and how that is being done.
While some urge
bishops to identify those candidates who best reflect Catholic values
when they enter the voting booth, the Church in fact does not endorse
any specific candidates or tell people which political party they should
espouse. Rather, the urging of the Catholic Church through its bishops
is for people to use their own judgment, judgments rooted in an informed
conscience focused on the core values of Scripture and the social
teachings of our Church. The role of Church leaders is to help people
develop that informed conscience.
Conscience for some means the right to do whatever I want, whenever I
want and wherever I want, regardless of whether the “it” is right or
wrong. In fact, conscience is the voice of God revealing the truth to us
and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. As a
Catholic, it is “my responsibility” to form my conscience by studying
Scripture and Church teaching, by using reason to understand key issues
in the light of this teaching, and by prayerfully seeking to understand
the will of God.
Building on Scripture and the teachings of the Church, Catholics are
offered clear principles on how best to achieve justice, peace and human
dignity for all men and women. It is Catholic belief that our moral
tradition rests firmly on the natural law that applies to everyone, not
just Catholics. As Catholics, we do not propose to impose our views on
others. Rather, our compulsion is to raise up moral principles that
apply to every human being as a child of God.
Faithful Citizenship, the document issued by the U.S. bishops
last November, teaches that as Catholics we have a responsibility to
“build a more just and peaceful world through morally responsible means,
so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and
dignity are defended” (cf.20). First and foremost, Faithful
Citizenship teaches that the deliberate killing of a human being
before birth is never morally acceptable and must be opposed. The “I am
personally opposed, but …” position simply is not acceptable, whether
addressing abortion, embryonic stem-cell destruction, euthanasia,
same-sex marriage, whatever. The destruction of human embryos and
fetuses is always wrong, as are assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Genocide, torture and the direct and intentional targeting of
noncombatants in war or terrorists attacks are always wrong. Same-sex
marriage is an oxymoron.
Faithful Citizenship highlights many issues. No political party
and few candidates fully share the Church’s commitment to the life and
dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. The
challenge is to understand that those who knowingly, willingly and
directly support public policies or legislation that undermine
fundamental moral principles cooperate with evil. If a voter’s intent is
to support issues that are “intrinsically evil,” that voter would be
guilty of formal cooperation with grave evil if he or she were to vote
for a candidate who supports such an activity. Yet, Faithful
Citizenship states: “At the same time, a voter should not use a
candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or
inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and
dignity” (cf.15).
Faithful Citizenship notes that there may be times when a
Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable positions may
nonetheless decide to vote for that person. Yet it adds: “Voting in this
way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to
advance narrow interest or partisan preferences or ignore a fundamental
moral evil” (cf.35).
A key quotation from Faithful Citizenship: “When all candidates
hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter
faces a dilemma. The voter may decide to take the extraordinary step of
not voting for any candidate, or, after careful deliberation, may decide
to vote for the candidate deemed less likely to advance such a morally
flawed position and more likely to pursue other authentic human goods”
(cf.36). A key point: “In making these decisions, it is essential for
Catholics to be guided by a well-formed conscience that recognizes that
all issues do not carry the same moral weight and that the moral
obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our
consciences and our actions. These decisions should take into account a
candidate’s commitments, character, integrity, and the ability to
influence a given issue. In the end, this is a decision to be made by
each Catholic guided by a conscience formed by Catholic moral teaching”
(cf.37).
Using the words of the two major presidential candidates, voter guides
focused on the hot-button issues of abortion, euthanasia and embryonic
stem-cell destruction can be expected to characterize Sen. Obama as
pro-choice and Sen. McCain as pro-life. The same characterization will
be made of candidates for Congress and governor. These voter guides most
often point to voting records on specific issues that they feel reveal a
candidate’s mindset.
The basic issues for most people in this electoral cycle are the economy
and the war, serious issues to be sure. However, given the fact that the
next president may have an opportunity to nominate up to three judges
for the Supreme Court, as well as numerous lesser judges, pro-life and
pro-choice positions are also part of the equation, a matter of grave
concern to those who value the sanctity of life.
Not all Catholics will read where candidates stand on classic
pro-life/pro-choice issues in the same way. Where they stand, however,
is of utmost importance, or should be. |
