Why Catholics Can't Vote For A Pro-abortion Candidate

 

Why Catholics can't vote for a pro abortion candidate, and why  I still support Donald Trump.

Back in 2016 I wrote an article.

"From a Catholic Perspective: Why I support Donald Trump"

In 2020 I updated it and posted it on my blog.  You can read it here...
https://terrysbits.blogspot.com/2021/03/from-catholic-perspective-why-i-support.html

Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden and is running against his Vice-President Kamala Harris this year and I still support Donald Trump.  Here's why...

The issue comes up every election season.  What does the Catholic Church teach on Voting? One of my favorite priests, Fr Chris Alar with the the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception answers the following questions.  Do we have a moral obligation to vote? Are there Non-negotiable Voting Issues?  What is the Preeminent Voting Issue? You can watch the video here...

https://youtu.be/gn_C8lRwY_w?si=sBxQXhDQGrlY59-R

Do we have an obligation to vote?
The answer is yes. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church...
2240 Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country:

Are there Non-negotiable Voting Issues?
Yes, Pope Benedict gave us three. 

1. The Dignity of Life
Abortion
Euthanasia
Stem Cell Research

2. Sanctity of Marriage Between a Man and a Woman

3. Preservation of Religious Liberty

All other issues are considered negotiable. Issues such Immigration,  The Economy,  Racism,  Healthcare,  and the Environment are important but how a candidate stands on the Non-negotiable Issues is determines worthiness. 

Doesn't that mean that as Catholics, we're Single issue voters? Not at all. Some issues can disqualify a candidate.  For instance if a candidate was a member of the  KKK or a Neo-Natzi, but promised to fix the Economy,  Healthcare Immigration  and the Environment.  His involvement in the KKK or as a Neo-Nazi would surely disqualify that candidate.  The Non-negotiable issues are intrinsically evil.  They can never be justified.

The Church teaches that if there is a viable option for a political candidate, meaning one who supports one or more of the Non-negotiable you have a moral obligation to vote.  Personal moral  character is not important, but it is the stated commitment to public policy in keeping with the common good of the Non-negotiables which is most significant. 

What if all the candidates are unworthy? Then you must choose the one who is most supportive of the Non-negotiables. First you vote on Non-negotiables and only then, evaluate their views on the other issues such as Environment. Healthcare, Economy,  etc.
We are not voting to canonize these candidates but to give them temporary power to do the will of God. 

Formal Cooperation with evil would be:
• directly doing an abortion
• Driving someone to,an abortion clinic
• Paying for an abortion
• Murdering someone
Remote or material cooperation with evil would be shopping at a store that you find out supports  abortion/Planned Parenthood. 

Ratzinger  tells us that a Catholic would be guilty of Formal Cooperation in evil if they deliberately vote for a candidate because of the candidate's permissive stand on abortion or euthanasia.  But votes that candidate for other reasons would be considered  Remote Material Cooperation which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons are not your feelings.  "I don't like the way this candidate looks." A proportionate reason cannot be found in comparing Non-negotiables with negotiables. You can't say: "Yeah,  I know that they are pro life and they defend marriage,  but they are racist, or they are hurting Healthcare or they are not worried about the economy."
You cannot put negotiable issues in proportionate reasons above Non-negotiable Issues.  It doesn't mean that those issues aren't important.  They are. But how to fix them is negotiable.  There is no time that you can allow Non-negotiables!  They are always wrong.  Only comparing two candidates regarding Non-negotiable reasons establishes a proportionate reason.

What is the Preeminent Voting Issue?
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) tells us that abortion is the preeminent issue among the Non-negotiables.  It can never be allowed!
All of the single issues (Healthcare,  Environment,  Economy,  immigration and even racism) depend on the most fundamental human right, the right to life.

We are obligated to inform our consciences and then follow it. St Thomas Aquinas says that we have to follow our conscience or we can be condemned.  Conscience is the activity of your intellect judging actions as right or wrong.  Feelings don't matter.  Conscience is the voice of truth.  Not your feelings.  Your opinion has to be in harmony with the truth.  I can't have an opinion contrary to the truth. My opinions can't be... "Well, I'm going to vote for this guy even though the truth of the matter is  that he stands for everything that's wrong."

Conscience only works when we inform it. When we learn the moral truth.  As a Catholic,  how do you do that?  The Magisterium gives us the Catechism but tells us what the moral issues are and why they are based on scripture.

You don't have to vote for a person who is pro-life, but you may not vote for a candidate who supports abortion.  Voting for a pro abortion candidate can be a mortal sin.  Do not vote on party affiliation lines or appearances. Don't vote for someone just because they say that they are Catholic.  Don't vote on you own interests or opinions. Don't vote for those candidates who support the lesser issues but don't  support the Non-negotiables. 

We are Catholics first, Americans second,  and Democrats or Republicans third.

The abortion stance is not new. It goes back to the first century.  Letter of St. Barnabas. 
Chapter 19

"You shall not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shall you destroy it after it is born."


Deuteronomy 30:19
"I call heaven and earth today to witness against you. I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live,"



At this point I will emphasize that The Catholic Church is not trying to tell us what political party to belong to or vote for. Their job is to simply help us form our consciences. As most Catholic Bishops will tell you, it is not their duty to tell you for whom to vote, but they do have an obligation to speak out on moral issues. In 2012 the Catholic bishops of Kansas said: 

“The Church has a constitutional right, like other organizations, to express its viewpoint on matters of public policy. However, the Catholic Church is not a political interest group. Rather than instructing Catholics who to vote for, the Church’s role in the political process is to illuminate the moral dimension of the various political issues, and to form the consciences of Catholics so that they can make morally informed judgments as both voters and elected officials


Now let's apply this to the upcoming election.
Let's take a look at the Candidates and see how they stack up against the Non-negotiable Issues. 

The Dignity of Life

As I said four years ago...
Joe Biden claims to be Catholic, but goes against the teachings of the church. He supports abortion. President Biden ran for President on a pro abortion platform. The record shows that he is the most pro abortion president ever. At State of the Union he invoked the name of God when he said...
"My God, what freedom else would you take away?"
Then he made a promise to restore Roe v. Wade when he said... "If you — if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again."    
During a recent pro abortion rally in Florida,  Biden blessed himself making the Sign of the Cross and then doubled down on his promise to make abortion the law of the land. 

Actions speak louder than words.  Here are a couple of articles about Biden's executive orders reversing Trump's pro life policy. 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/biden-abortion-executive-orders/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/biden-abortion-executive-orders/index.html

Also, a White House briefing bragging about Biden's pro abortion policies. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/07/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-continues-the-fight-for-reproductive-freedom/

HARRIS AND WALZ ARE ALSO  EXTREME ON ABORTION. 

Since I wrote this,  Biden has dropped out of the race.  Harris has disenfranchised 14 million Democrat voters, taking over as the party's nominee.  She is just as extreme as Biden.  She has promised to restore Roe v Wade even if it means eliminating the filibuster. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/23/nx-s1-5123955/kamala-harris-abortion-roe-v-wade-filibuster

And Harris’s selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate doubles down on her extreme strategy to put abortion at the top of the ticket. The Harris-Walz ticket is the most pro-abortion in U.S. history, openly advocating for zero regulations on abortion and even denying healthcare to babies who survive abortions. 

In Minnesota, Walz removed a requirement for doctors to report cases where babies survived abortions, an act so extreme that even former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) advised him to tone it down — advice he publicly rejected.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4837181-harris-walz-abortion-issue/

Check out some of her lies about abortion.


https://americafirstpolicy.com/issues/kamala-harriss-extreme-abortion-policies-hurt-women

Earlier this year she went as far as to visit a Planned Parenthood clinic.


https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/08/kamalas-abortion-extremism







TRUMP IS PRO-LIFE!



Meanwhile Trump was probably the most pro life  presidents ever. He was the first president to attend at the March For Life. You can see his speech  here...

https://youtu.be/3RjuADPBo-Q?si=xa9XF4F-0Ej6xLOM

Once again,  actions speak louder than words and Trump has a record to run on. Check out the list of pro life accomplishments as noted by Priests For Life. 


https://www.priestsforlife.org/elections/trump-prolife-accomplishments.aspx


This article from the National Catholic Register also does  a great job of summarizing Trump's accomplishments...

https://www.ncregister.com/news/trump-pro-life-legacy