Can A Catholic Vote for a Pro-Abortion Candidate?
Well, on top of a world-wide pandemic — election season is upon us — Hooray! (Please note sarcasm.)
It’s led to a perfect storm of chaos and turmoil. Can we all agree this hasn’t been an easy time for most of us? But hey, who said life was meant to be easy — not Jesus and not the Saints!
We must accept that difficulty is a part of life, and make the most of the time God has given to us. Let’s not waste our days in fear and anger and dread.
Let’s live our lives for Christ and His Church and do our best to live lives that reflect the Gospel message.
Don’t forget, one day we will have to make an accounting for our lives — and part of that accounting will be to explain the way we voted in this life. It matters!
How you vote will affect the way other people will, or will not, be allowed to hear and embrace the Gospel.
Beyond that, God made it very clear from the beginning that we are our brother’s keeper — and in voting, we decide how those in power will treat the weak, the vulnerable and those without a voice.
We decide for them. So vote, knowing we have a power that many do not — and with that power comes a sacred responsibility.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear, the “co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to exercise the right to vote”. (CCC 2240)
So make no mistake, you CAN NOT HIDE AWAY and refuse to vote because you are disenchanted with the whole process! No excuses, people!
As a Christian, you have the duty to stay involved in the political process — and one day, you will have to make an account of each and every vote you cast.
So choose well!
First word of advice is PRAY FOR THIS ELECTION! Pray and Fast!
This is an important election — just as every election is an important one! Pray for God to break through all the confusion and convict all of us of the right way to vote!
Second word of advice is to examine more deeply the fundamentals issues that determine the “common good” of society. This is key in helping siphon through the candidates and make morally good choices.
Pope Benedict XVI understood the challenges in fulfilling one’s duty to vote for the “best candidate”.
He saw first-hand so many people (clergy included) choosing to interpret the common good as basically ANYTHING they want it to be.
Therefore, he clarified in 2006, the need to recognize the “non-negotiables”. More specifically, he clarified what the “fundamental and inalienable rights” of human persons consisted of:
“As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable.
Among these the following emerge clearly today:
(a)protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death;
(b)recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage, and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role;
(c)the protection of the right of parents to educate their children.
Pope Benedict, Address to European Parliamentary Group, 30 March 2006
My recommendation is to take those three principles and apply them to every candidate you are considering voting for.
If they violate the promotion of common good, as defined above, in good conscience, you should not vote for them!
I am not here to tell you who to vote for in this election. That’s not my job. But I am here to say, that there are certain candidates you should not vote for — and even more so, there are certain candidates you should vote against!
Elections are not about “perfect” people. They are about voting for the best candidate who actually has a chance to win. It’s about voting for people who will enact laws and have the power of veto — so choose those who will best act in that realm.
Don’t let the desire for the “perfect” candidate get in the way of voting for the best candidate who has a chance of winning.
At the local level, an independent or third party candidate could actually win, but at this point in history, there are really only two parties that have a chance of winning at the highest levels — consider that when voting.
That’s my two cents worth, but pray about it and do what God is asking you to do — especially when your vote has the ability to address the greatest human rights violations of our times.
The point, though, is to be informed, allow Church teachings to form your conscience, and vote!
Let’s put that in the current context of our elections. Just based on sheer numbers alone, it is clear that the GREATEST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS happening in our country right now center around abortion.
Based on the millions of lives snuffed out every year to abortion, the numbers alone make it the most pressing human rights violation that our vote can directly effect.
As awful as it is to see the mistreatment of illegal aliens at the border, racial injustice, lack of healthcare or education, and the many other injustices WE HAVE A DUTY TO fight against, we must first work to ensure each and every human being has the fundamental right to life.
Currently, all men and women of all creeds, races and religion in our country have equal rights and protection under the law — there is only one demographic that doesn’t have that protection under the law: the baby in the womb.
For that reason alone, we have a greater duty to speak for them and protect them until they do have those legal rights — and by the way, we can vote pro-life and also fight against other injustices in the world.
The simple reality, though, is if you take the life of an innocent person, none of the other rights are possible for them. There is no pursuit of freedom and happiness if you’re dead.
If you can point to any other legal injustice that is the direct cause of point-blank murder of MORE THAN 1 MILLION people a year — in our country alone — then you’d have a valid point.
Add to that number the millions of abortions a pro-abortion president would force on women in poor countries — and I dare you to name any other social ill causing the direct murder of so many innocent lives!
Besides, many of the other injustices that are important to us are about battles of the heart and bringing to justice those who break the laws — the legal protection is already there.
We can’t forget that when we, as a society, lose respect for the God-given right to life, the rest of our rights will crumble with it. It is the fundamental issue upon which all other human rights stands.
Trying to address all these other evils, without addressing abortion is like putting a band-aid on a major head wound. We will continue to bleed out and the soul of our country will die if we fail to recognize the fundamental right to life.
Listen, I’m not here to endorse one candidate, but I urge you to take voting seriously.
If you can’t figure where a particular candidate stands, just look at their party’s platform — it’s very informative!
Especially at the higher levels, though, it is very clear who is for the fundamental right to life and who isn’t. It is very clear who supports family and parental rights in educating their own children.
The choice is often very clear — the question is, are you willing to do the work and look at the voting records and platforms and ask God to break through the confusion and make that choice clear?
Speaking of endorsements, though, if you want to know the quickest and easiest way to make a good choice, just look up whomever Planned Parenthood endorses and vote for anybody BUT THOSE CANDIDATES!
Their endorsement means those candidates will support abortion for all 9 months and even after birth — for any reason!
They also happen to be a BILLION DOLLAR Industry that only stands to profit if more abortions happen. They only endorse a candidate who can keep them in business.
You don’t want to be a willing partner to that, do you?
Besides, Margaret Sanger was Planned Parenthood’s founder and she was a white supremacist who (speaking of endorsements) also happened to have Hitler’s endorsement (He was inspired by her writings in his own pursuit of killing non-Arians. Now that’s scary!)
Planned Parenthood also happens to be the largest killer of beautiful black, brown, and white babies around world — so, you better believe I will never vote for anybody they endorse!
Vote any Planned Parenthood endorsed candidates down every chance you can get and you, my friend, will be able to sleep with a clear conscience at night! I know I do!
Besides, you will find yourself on the right side of history and most importantly, on the side of truth and justice, and Jesus and the Saints. No better endorsement than that!
And that is all I have to say about that!
10 Comments
Andrea
Hi Moira
Access to abortion has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years. The power to slow this evil lies in the women making the choice to have an abortion, not with politicians. So how do we make women more able to say yes to life? With financial and personal support from charities and government alike. Whose politics more align with that is the better question to ask.
We’ve sold our souls as Catholics if we say that one party really backs the prolife cause. Lying to Catholics to say that overturning the law Is feasible is one way one party has held on to a segment of the Catholic vote while working against Catholic values such as solidarity, concern for the poor, concern for the environment.
I read once that sociologists say that 20% is the tipping point at which a taboo behavior becomes acceptable. So, if 20% of people engage in a behavior, it is seen as permissible or less taboo. We’ve well exceeded that for abortion for decades. So how do you turn the real tide against abortion, which is not legal access?
We live in a country where giving life is seen as a heroic act. If you’re low income and have a child and live with family and scrape some money from a minimum wage job, what happens when you become pregnant again? We know statistically that you look at your kid and you say you can’t add another to that situation. How does a law change any of that calculation?
Jesus says that the wheat and the weeds grow together until the Last Day. There is plenty of pro life work that is about enabling women through laws like income supports for childcare and education and housing and private charity that have nothing to do with overturning Roe. Which party is about helping those at the margins?
I hope Catholics can start to see that they’ve been held as political pawns by people who don’t care about those kids and those families,
Moira
Hello Andrea,
First of all, I agree with a lot of what you saying here. Not sure if that surprises you, or not, but I am Catholic first and have voted for both major party candidates at different points in my life. I also agree, Abortion is a battle of the heart and making having a baby “easier” by increasing financial aid to those who need it is important. I also am a big believer in Catholic charities being way more effective than big government. I don’t think it’s the governments job to provide for our every need. WE ARE OUR BROTHER’s KEEPER and of all Christians would start to give 10% of their income to worthy charities, it would transform many, countless lives. So we need to stop looking to govt because they will likely only mess things up — though I do agree they should be involved in helping.
I am not one of those who is holding out on a change of laws — but I believe because the baby in the womb of all races and creeds is the one demographic NOT protected under the law, we owe them a particular attention. We owe them speaking up until they can have their own voice. That is where govt comes in — anybody who is sold out to Planned Parenthood will pressure and actually force abortions on the poor —both here and abroad — and therefore I will not ever support a politician who has sold out to PP.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! God bless!
Moira
Hello Andrea,
I forgot to answer the first part of your question. I apologize for missing that! In regards to the 50 years of abortion being legal, I agree that’s a long time! But, if you look at slavery, it took over 100 years after the founding of our country to abolish slavery — and it took another 100 years beyond that to finally grant voting rights to black men and women. If those brave men and women who opposed slavery gave up after 50 years, what would have happened to our country? Where would we be without the men and women who recognized that slaves should be recognized and given the same rights under the law as white men? Where would we be if they didn’t fight for that recognition and protection under the law?
I’m sure you would agree that giving up just because it had been a long time would have been a tragedy!
And even for those brave men and women who died before slavery would finally be abolished (thanks be to God, it was!!!) those men and women who fought against slavery and fought to emancipate and grant voting rights to black men and women were ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY. I want to look back on my life and say I did what I could to oppose the greatest human rights violations of our times — I can not worry whether or not it will be successful — just that I remain faithful to trying to fight that, one day, all human beings might be protected under the law!
Also, right now, there is a party that supports parental choice for their kids education and a party that is vehemently opposed to it. We know education is a way out for those in poverty. Again, I say, why be opposed to parents choosing a better education than what the public schools in their area can offer? Do some research and you will discover the teacher’s union also is opposed. Seems they want to keep their jobs with zero accountability. Doesn’t seem fair when we know a great education would make all the difference for these kids.
Lots more I could say, but I hope that explains why I think research is key in deciding this election cycle!
God bless!
Margaret
Thank you for this, Andrea. The classic Catholic “vote for the pro life candidate” who then governs in a way that is antithetical to everything I’ve ever learned is prolife, is very upsetting. I will vote for candidates who promote a prolife environment.
E
Moira, thank you so much for what you explained here. You are correct! Abortion is the deliberate killing of innocent, preborn children, whose RIGHT TO LIFE has been stolen from them by the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision of 1973. Since then, we pro-lifers have never stopped fighting for the Right to life and restored protections for the Preborn. We know that since that Decision, we have seen the Democratic Party move away from Pro-Life views to embrace the so-called “Right to Choose.” Men like Joe Biden, who once fought for life, now fully embrace “Abortion on Demand” today!
Moira, you are also correct to point out the Platform of each Party is in stark contrast; the Democrats stand in complete opposition to the “life” issues today. The Party that fights for the restoration of the RIGHT TO LIFE, as a basic human right, is the Republican Party today. In contrast stands the Democratic Party and its Platform. The Obama/Biden Platform called for Abortion on Demand and their supporters continue to cry out for Abortion on Demand, which sadly, Joe Bidden says he fully supports today!
If you need proof of the contrasting views of the Republican and Democratic parties, I recommend you go to Priests for Life and see their information which contrasts both the Republican and the Democratic Platforms from The Bidden/Obama era. Today, Candidate Joe Bidden remains committed to the Promotion and Protection of ABORTION ON DEMAND!
In contrast, the Republican Candidate, President Trump and his V.P. Mike Pence, openly and unashamedly call for the protection of the Unborn child and the end to abortion as we know it. As a Catholic, I know we can NEVER EMBRACE THE DELIBERATE KILLING OF THE INNOCENT UNBORN…as Nellie Gray always reminded us…NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT! We dedicated our lives to MARCHING FOR LIFE; NOT FOR DEATH!
Priests for Life publish the positions of the candicates every election. They are dedicated to reporting the truth! I urge you to see for yourself what remain the positions of both Candidates for President and their Parties.
Moira
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and that resource for Priests for Life. I’m sure that would be most helpful in a time of so much confusion to be able to compare actual records of voting and actions. Talk is great, but actions are what matter!
Andrea
(Another Catholic Blogger) wrote another good post and it’s about how to discern who to vote for, in light of the abortion issue. It’s a more nuanced process than what has been proposed here or on the Priests for Life website. This is a good quote that opens up the argument:
“A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate’s permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favour of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.” – Benedict XVI
Moira
Hello Andrea,
So sorry it took so long to reply to this comment! School beginnings, birthdays and #momlife to the max right now! Again, I thank you for sharing another perspective here.
Here are the words of the USCCB on the matter of abortion:
In their teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics called Faithful Citizenship, the U.S. bishops underscore the gravity of abortion, which they describe as the “preeminent” issue for Catholic voters.
“The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed,”. Abortion is the pre-eminent issue and it takes precedence over any other human rights issues because of the sheer numbers and that if you don’t have the right to life, none of those other rights even matter anyway.
That blogger of which you speak is willing to bet on a “loophole” that would require a “proportionate reason”. I ask you to please name any human rights violation which will exceed the murder of 4 million human beings (babies) over the next four years and wound countless mothers and fathers in ways that will be difficult for them to ever truly “get over”? We need to love all those men, women and children and abortion is not the answer to our problems. It will only make them worse!
I’ll end with the words of Mother Teresa.
“If we accept that a mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, rather, to use violence to get what they want.”
Amen to that!
Much love and prayers for you and your discernment!!
Gemma Jacinta
Hi Moira!
Thank you for encouraging dialogue about this important issue. A political leader who is not outspoken about the sacredness of all human life from womb to tomb is not someone I can support as a follower of Jesus Christ. Politicians who staunchly support and advocate for Planned Parenthood and the killing of the unborn child in the womb will never receive my vote.
It is my moral obligation as a Christian to stand with those who fight against the evil of infanticide.
I stand with those who believe in the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God, no matter how small.
Moira
Amen to all of that! Thank you for sharing this perspective!