A Few Faith Considerations Before We Vote…

Election Day is now less than a week away, and there are a few things to consider as we apply our Catholic faith with the important responsibility to how we vote. The Catechism, Church documents, and Sacred Scripture are invaluable resources that effectively point us in the right direction.

First, what can our faith teach us? We as Catholic Christians and as members of the Body of Christ are not representative of any political party. “The Church, because of her commission and competence, is not to be confused in any way with the political community. She is both the sign and the safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person. ‘The Church respects and encourages the political freedom and responsibility of the citizen’” (Catechism 2245). So we as Catholics and as citizens are called to engage the political process and have a civic duty to vote which the Church supports. Furthermore, a citizen shows a sincere interest in his country’s welfare by paying just taxes, defending his country’s rights when necessary, and voting honestly and without selfish motives.

One of the main points we should keep in mind when voting is that the fundamental rights of the person is to be protected and defended for all human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. In respect to the inviolable right to life, “The common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights, for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination…” Pope St. John Paul II went on to say that “in effect the acknowledgment of the personal dignity of every human being demands the respect, the defense and the promotion of the rights of the human person. It is a question of inherent, universal and inviolable rights. No one, no individual, no group, no authority, no State, can change let alone eliminate them because such rights find their source in God himself” (Christifideles Laici or The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People #38, 1988 A.D.).

Political authorities have a role to play in the right to life, which is also the fundamental right of every person. “Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person and the conditions for the exercise of his freedom…Political rights are meant to be exercised for the common good of the nation and the human community” (Catechism 2237, 2254). Furthermore, it is a part of the Church’s mission to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it. The only means the Church may use are those which are in accord with the Gospel and the welfare of all men according to the diversity of times and circumstances (Catechism 2246).

Sometimes there can be a threat and and an injustice done to the dignity and fundamental rights of the person at the very beginning stages of life (i.e. abortion). What are we to do in a situation like that? Vote for a pro-life candidate. The Catechism sheds further light on this. “Citizens are obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order. ‘We must obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29, Catechism 2256). Another recent example of this would also be the issue of religious freedom and more specifically, conscience protection, in which the Little Sisters of the Poor took our government all the way to the Supreme Court for being made to pay, albeit against their moral conscience, for contraception in their insurance policy.

While other topics like refugee care/immigration (see Catechism #2241) and social justice (i.e. care for and solidarity with the poor) are very important, they are not non-negotiable. In other words, they are negotiable, but not in the sense that they should not be done (because of course they should. It’s part of our loving, Gospel response!), but HOW one should approach these delicate but very important issues is what makes it negotiable. There are plenty of ways to arrive at caring for the poor.

However, there are five non-negotiable issues according to our Catholic faith that the law cannot promote due to the intrinsically evil nature of them. Intrinsically evil actions are “those that fundamentally conflict with the moral law and can never be performed under any circumstance.” The Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics goes on to say “it is a serious sin to deliberately endorse or promote any of these actions, and no candidate who really wants to advance the common good will support any action contrary to the non-negotiable principles involved in these issues” listed below. So I would recommend to find out where our candidates stand on the following five non-negotiable issues and proceed from there. They are: 1). abortion, 2). euthanasia/assisted suicide, 3). embryonic stem cell research, 4). human cloning, and 5). homosexual marriage. Two issues that are not included in the non-negotiable list are the issues of war and the death penalty/capital punishment. “Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia…There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia” (“Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles,” by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI). As opposed to war and the death penalty, these five issues are intrinsically evil. This means that they can never be justified, never be right, and never be good according to the moral law that has been proven down through history of the Catholic Church. Under no circumstance are they to be done or supported in any way.

There are many Scriptures I could direct you to read, but I will leave you with six to ponder. Please look them up at your earliest convenience. They are Dt. 30:19, 2 Chr. 7:14, Ps. 146:3, Jer. 29:11-14, Mt. 6:33, and Heb. 12:2. In the end the Catechism states: “It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom” (CCC 2255). May we build up society with those values guided by the Holy Spirit as each of us casts our vote. Amen.

In The Most Holy Trinity,
Fr. Jeff

Resources:
1. Archdiocese of Detroit – www.aod.org
2. Catechism 2237-2246, 2254-2257
3. “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” by U.S. Bishops, 2015. www.usccb.org
4. Lifespan – http://www.michiganlifespan.biz
5. Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) – www.micatholic.org
6. Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics from Catholic Answers – www.catholic.com