Voting...Republican/Democrat

[peacenluvbaby]

Hello "Wise Men and Women" of this board.

Maybe you can give me some answers to the perennial issue of can a catholic vote for someone who is pro choice.

1. if that person has no real power over abortion issues, why should his personal view affect my vote, which is for his policies/fitness to be in office?

2. What about social issues factors, the Bishops support migrant rights, no death penalty, better access to medical help, poverty relief....which are "democrat" issues...but many catholics disregard these issues because of the abortion issue. If Bush sends people to die (death penalty/war) or restricts other peoples human rights and freedoms - Patriot Act, harsher anti-immigration, reducing anti-poverty measures - but he is against abortion (one life issue of many) can I vote for a pro-choice guy who has more of the other issues right?

Just wondering....and I know this board won't attack me for being a "pink"
socialist peacenik

Peace!

Edited January 16, 2006 by peacenluvbaby

[Cam42]

[quote name='peacenluvbaby' date='Jan 16 2006, 12:04 PM']Hello "Wise Men and Women" of this board.

Maybe you can give me some answers to the perennial issue of can a catholic vote for someone who is pro choice.

1.  if that person has no real power over abortion issues, why should his personal view affect my vote, which is for his policies/fitness to be in office?

2. What about social issues factors, the Bishops support migrant rights, no death penalty, better access to medical help, poverty relief....which are "democrat" issues...but many catholics disregard these issues because of the abortion issue.  If Bush sends people to die (death penalty/war) or restricts other peoples human rights and freedoms - Patriot Act, harsher anti-immigration, reducing anti-poverty measures - but he is against abortion (one life issue of many) can I vote for a pro-choice guy who has more of the other issues right?

Just wondering....and I know this board won't attack me for being a "pink"
socialist peacenik 

Peace!
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[/quote]


Good questions.....

Answers:

1. Catholics have a moral obligation to promote the common good through the exercise of their voting privileges (cf. CCC 2240). It is not just civil authorities who have responsibility for a country. "Service of the common good require[s] citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community" (CCC 2239). This means citizens should participate in the political process at the ballot box.

But voting cannot be arbitrary. "A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals" (CPL 4). A citizen’s vote most often means voting for a candidate who will be the one directly voting on laws or programs. But being one step removed from law-making doesn’t let citizens off the hook, since morality requires that we avoid doing evil to the greatest extent possible, even indirectly.

Some things always are wrong, and no one may deliberately vote in favor of them. Legislators, who have a direct vote, may not support these evils in legislation or programs. Citizens support these evils indirectly if they vote in favor of candidates who propose to advance them. Thus, to the greatest extent possible, Catholics must avoid voting for any candidate who intends to support programs or laws that are intrinsically evil. When all of the candidates endorse morally harmful policies, citizens must vote in a way that will limit the harm likely to be done.


2. The Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is "never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it" (EV 73). Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.

The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his life. Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child's, who should not suffer death for others' sins.

In some political races, each candidate takes a wrong position on one or more issues involving non-negotiable moral principles. In such a case you may vote for the candidate who takes the fewest such positions or who seems least likely to be able to advance immoral legislation, or you may choose to vote for no one.

A vote cast in such a situation is not morally the same as a positive endorsement for candidates, laws, or programs that promote intrinsic evils: It is only tolerating a lesser evil to avoid an even greater evil. As Pope John Paul II indicated regarding a situation where it is not possible to overturn or completely defeat a law allowing abortion, “an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality’.”(EV, 73; also CPL, n.4)

Catholics must strive to put in place candidates, laws, and political programs that are in full accord with non-negotiable moral values. Where a perfect candidate, law, or program is not on the table, we are to choose the best option, the one that promotes the greatest good and entails the least evil. Not voting may sometimes be the only moral course of action, but we must consider whether not voting actually promotes good and limits evil in a specific instance. The role of citizens and elected officials is to promote intrinsic moral values as much as possible today, while continuing to work toward better candidates, laws, and programs in the future.

A Catholic moral framework does not easily fit the ideologies of "right" or "left," nor tthe platforms of any party. Our values are often not "politically correct." Believers are called to be a community of conscience within the larger society and to test public life by the values of Scripture and the principles of Catholic social teaching. Our responsibility is to measure all candidates, policies, parties, and platforms by how they protect or undermine the life, dignity, and rights of the human person whether they protect the poor and vulnerable and advance the common good.

Catholic teaching offers consistent moral principles to assess issues, political platforms, and campaigns for their impact on human life and dignity. As Catholics, we are not free to abandon unborn children because they are seen as unwanted or inconvenient; to turn our backs on immigrants because they lack the proper documents; to create and then destroy human lives in a quest for medical advances or profit; to turn away from poor women and children because they lack economic or political power; or to ignore sick people because they have no insurance. Nor can we neglect international responsibilities in the aftermath of war because resources are scarce. Catholic teaching requires us to speak up for the voiceless and to act in accord with universal moral values.

[The Church] does not wish to exercise political power or eliminate the freedom of opinion of Catholics regarding contingent questions. Instead, it intends--as is its proper function--to instruct and illuminate the consciences of the faithful, particularly those involved in political life, so that their actions may always serve the integral promotion of the human person and the common good.10 We urge our fellow citizens "to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest."11 As bishops, we seek to form the consciences of our people. We do not wish to instruct persons on how they should vote by endorsing or opposing candidates. We hope that voters will examine the position of candidates on the full range of issues, as well as on their personal integrity, philosophy, and performance. We are convinced that a consistent ethic of life should be the moral framework from which to address issues in the political arena. (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life, no. 4.)

The responses come from two documents directly.

[url="http://www.nccbuscc.org/faithfulcitizenship/bishopStatement.html#3"]Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility[/url]
and
[url="http://www.catholic.com/library/voters_guide.asp"]Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics[/url]

I hope this helps.....I also hope that it answers your questions. Again, welcome to Phatmass. Glad to have ya.