VOTING WITH A CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE

PRAYER

King of kings, we come before you to ask for your help. Give us your wisdom to elect leaders who will stand for us and who will lead by example. Open our eyes to see what’s good for us as a nation.  Let candidates respect the dignity of each and every human life, each and every step along the long continuum from conception to natural death.  Grant them the wisdom and grace to do just that.

 Protect us from those who want leadership for selfish reasons, for power and financial gain at the expense of developing the nation. I pray that you may scatter any plans set by the devil to disrupt the election process.  Let the candidates accept the outcome of the elections without creating tension and violence. Let your Holy Spirit guide us in our decision making. Amen.

 INTRODUCTION

Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that sees the proper relationship among moral goods.

There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are so deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These are called “intrinsically evil” actions.

They must always be rejected and opposed. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia. It is always a grave sin if the voter’s intent is to support those positions.

Negative commandments such as thou shall not kill does not mean they are more important than obligations to do good (Veritas Splendor ST. John Paul II)   It is our positive duty to contribute to the common good and to act in solidarity with those in need. Both opposing evil and doing good are essential obligations.

Each of us has the right to life, to bodily integrity, and to the means which are suitable for the proper development of life; these are primarily food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, and, finally, the necessary social services” (St. John XXIII Pacem in Terris, no. 11).

The formation of conscience begins with a desire to embrace goodness and truth. For Catholics, this begins with a willingness and openness to seek the truth and what is right by studying Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. At the center of these truths is respect for the dignity of every person.

We are called to practice Christ’s commandment to “love one another” (Jn 13:34). We are also called to promote the well-being of all, to share our blessings with those most in need, to defend marriage, and to protect the lives and dignity of all, especially the weak, the vulnerable, the voiceless.

The text Catholic Catechism was approved by St. John Paul II on 25 June 1992, and promulgated by him on 11 October 1992, the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council

FORMING A CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE

 1776 “Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . .

Here, the Church references the clear teaching of both the Old and the New Testaments. “I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts” Jeremiah 31: 33, and “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts” Hebrews 8: 10

The natural law is inscribed in every human heart and mind by God. This law is knowable by all human beings, whether or not they have encountered the revealed law of God in Sacred Scripture. This is why natural law is the basis of all the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding politics.

1782 Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.”

1783 Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful… The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences of the world and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.

1785 The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.

Pope Francis in 2018 Encyclical Gaudete et Exsultate wrote,” The “defense of the innocent unborn needs to be clear, firm and passionate,” But after noting the sacredness of the lives at stake in abortion, Francis pointedly noted, “Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to euthanasia, victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.”

COMMENTARY

In this election there are many issues for Catholics to consider. These issues certainly include the character of the candidates, the management of the pandemic, the death penalty, religious liberty, human sexuality, poverty, racism, economic justice, climate change, immigration, domestic and international peace and more.

A Catholic should ask if there are serious reasons that could justify voting for a candidate who supports the legal right to abortion.  The U.S. bishops’ conference uses the term “proportionate or truly grave moral reasons.”

The idea here is that Catholics should take abortion very seriously but also consider the full range of serious issues at stake. In other words, for the sake of the common good, Catholics are not single issue voters. Catholic Teaching does not prohibit voting for a candidate that supports the legal right to abortion.

However a Catholic may not vote specifically for a pro-choice politician if it is their intention to support abortion, always intrinsically evil Also a candidate who opposes abortion does not make that candidate pro-life but anti-abortion. Life begins at conception and continues to natural death.  That is a long continuum to respect the dignity and sanctity of every human life, every human life!!!

PRAYER

Merciful Father, Thank you for inviting each of us to join in your work of building the kingdom of love, justice, and peace. Draw us close to you in prayer.

 Send us forth to encounter all whom you love: those not yet born, those in poverty, those in need of welcome. Inspire us to respond to the call to faithful citizenship, during election season and beyond.

 Teach us in your merciful love to treat others with respect, even when we disagree.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen