How To Vote Catholic
With the Catholic vote being pursued by both parties - how can one be sure to practice "Faithful Citizenship" and not be influenced by campaign rhetoric?
This year, more than ever, Catholics, and the entire human family, face a daunting challenge. We have to elect a president and other high ranking officials, and the choice could be a matter of life ordeath for the nation.
Fr. John Corapi, Form Your Conscience, Vote Your Conscience
Form Your Conscience, Vote Your Conscience!
By Father John Corapi, SOLT, STD
Every four years we enjoy a very great privilege, one that carries with it an equally great
responsibility: that of voting for the officials who will govern the country and affect the
lives of tens of millions of people, for better or for worse. Good government and just
laws are not optional if the human family is to survive, much less prosper.
The tired argument that is so often heard these days about the separation of Church and
State is a patently specious one, to say the least. The First Amendment of the Bill of
Rights of the U.S. Constitution states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances. The current erroneous interpretation of the separation of church and state is
nothing less than an attack on the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United
States of America itself.
Every citizen has a right to express their views and to vote in accordance with those
views. The legitimate separation of church and state concerns the constitutional
prohibition of one state sponsored religion, as well as the Founding Fathers’ intent to
keep the government out of the affairs of the various religions. The version of separation
of church and state that is presently being foisted on an unsuspecting public is tantamount
to a suppression of the fundamental constitutional rights of a class of citizens. Since when
is Christian thought not permitted to influence a country that was founded on Christian
principles? We share in the good and the evil of those we place in office.
The Catechismof the Catholic Church teaches that, although “sin is a personal act, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them” (CCC #1868).
We can be accomplices in the sins of others:
By participating directly and voluntarily in them;
By ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
By not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; (emphasis
author’s)
By protecting evil-doers” (CCC #1868).
The Catechism is thus consistent with traditional Catholic teaching which held that there are nine ways we can be an accessory to another’s sin:
1. By counsel. I.e., “I think you should have an abortion; go ahead and have the
abortion. It will help preserve your lifestyle.”
2. By command. I.e., Telling your child, your friend, or your co-worker, “Have an
abortion, you may lose your job if you don’t.”
3. By consent. I.e., “If you and your partner feel it’s the best thing, go ahead and have a
sexual relationship, get married. even if you’re both of the same sex, etc. It’s
nobody’s business.”
4. By provocation. I.e., “Have the abortion!
Aren’t you in charge of your own life? The Pope is old and sick and who cares what
he says anyhow.”
5. By praise or flattery. I.e., “Oh, Senator, you are so courageous and kind in defending
a woman’s ‘right’ to an abortion.”
6. By concealment. I.e., The pastor allows the senator, judge, president, etc. who has
voted for, or otherwise promoted, abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, same-sex
marriage, etc. to appear to be in good standing, when, in fact, they have caused grave
public scandal by their actions. When the sin is public, the redress must be public.
Although, I don’t disagree with the courageous bishops who would deny such persons
Communion, I do believe that the “confrontation” should take place, without
question, long before they arrive at the altar rail.
7. By participation. I.e., “I’ll drive you to the clinic. You need that abortion to be able to
continue your lifestyle.”
8. By silence. I.e., You refuse to speak out against what is a clear violation of human
rights, an incredible persecution and prejudice against a class of human beings (the
unborn). You hide behind the Supreme Court’s unjust and inherently illicit decision
on abortion, saying it’s the law of the land, when in fact it is the subversion and
perversion of authentic law. The Nazi SS officers tried for war crimes used a similar
defense, saying they were only following orders. They hung them, guilty as charged!
9. By defense of the evil. I.e., “It prevents child abuse by eliminating unwanted
children; Women are more in charge of their lives, more liberated; it’s so much more
sophisticated and educated a thing to do., “etc. etc.
This year, more than ever, Catholics, and the entire human family, face a daunting challenge. We have to elect a president and other high ranking officials, and the choice could be a matter of life ordeath for the nation.
For Catholics, it is a matter of a moral mandate: form your conscience so that you can vote your wellformed conscience. It is not morally permissible to merely vote for whomever you like based on superficial or even personal preferences. The candidates have to be evaluated in the sober and pure light of truth. Your conscience must be formed to the objective norm of that truth, which is Church teaching in faith and morals. Since a physician needs to be concerned with
what’s sick, let’s get right to the point. It is not morally possible for any Catholic to
support abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning, or same-sex
marriage. There are no ways around this, no justifications whatever.
Why? For the simple reason that the Church holds these things to be intrinsically evil.
They are evil in themselves, and no circumstances or subjective conditions can ever
change that. They are not to be confused with such things as the death penalty and
legitimate self-defense, which are not intrinsically evil, and which governments can, and
often must, make use of. While the conditions for applying such unfortunate measures as
the death penalty and waging war may be open to debate, they are not things evil in
themselves, always and everywhere. Any appeal to conscience concerning intrinsically
evil matters is a specious one. Conscience is not an independent entity; it does not operate
in a vacuum.
Conscience must be formed to the objective norm of truth—Church teaching. Church
teaching is clear on the issues mentioned (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #1783).
The theological position to the contrary is untenable and has been frequently condemned
by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council mentioned
conscience more than seventy times, never without a modifying term: “well-formed
conscience, malformed conscience; you must form your conscience, etc.”
Conscience is not to be construed as one’s mere ideas and opinions, or whatever vagrant
and morally vacuous thoughts race through one’s mind. “Conscience is a judgment of
reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is
going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed” (Catechism
of the Catholic Church #1778). It must be grounded in truth, formed to truth. For
Catholics that is Church teaching in faith and morals.
Any candidate for political office, Catholic or otherwise, who is in favor of intrinsically
evil things (abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, etc), votes for them, or otherwise
funds or furthers their cause, cannot be supported in any way by a Catholic who wishes to
remain Catholic in fact, not just in name. Catholic office holders, whether presidents,
senators, congress men or women, or judges at any level must adhere to Catholic teaching
or run the risk of separating themselves from the Body of Christ. In such egregious and
chronic cases of gross moral evil such as instituting and perpetuating abortion and the
structures of sin that surround it, it is quite probable that such Catholic officials are
excommunicated in virtue of the acts themselves. A latae sententiae (automatic)
excommunication is likely triggered when they vote for laws, funding, and structures that
enable and perpetuate such obvious and egregious evil (Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons
1364,1398; Canon 1329, par. #2). They are in turn forbidden from approaching the
sacraments as the result (Cf. Catechism of Catholic Church #1463).
These persons must undoubtedly think that a fetus is not a human being. If they did,
would they authorize and enable the wholesale and on demand execution of tens of
millions of the most innocent human beings in their mothers’ wombs?
If they think there is not a human being in the womb, then they do not believe what the
Church believes, and that belief is not optional. Such a rejection of so fundamental a truth
is tantamount to heresy (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2089), the automatic
penalty for which is excommunication (Cf Code of Canon Law #1364). No further act of
a bishop is required either, since the act of unbelief in itself is what triggers the severing
of the member from the Body. If, on the contrary, they think that indeed there is a human
being in the womb, they are in a worse position, having knowingly and willingly
fostered, facilitated, and perpetuated a human holocaust of unthinkable proportions. The
lame argument that they personally oppose such things as abortion, yet vote for them
repeatedly, demonstrates the most virulent form of moral and political schizophrenia yet
to afflict mankind. That they succeed in duping millions of otherwise intelligent people
with this absurd and twisted logic does not bode well for the future of the nation that
votes for them. The further up the hierarchy of authority one goes, the more responsible
and the more culpable one becomes. Hence, a supreme court justice, senator, or president
who supports abortion through voting or rhetoric is significantly more culpable than a
woman who effectively procures an abortion. She is responsible for one abortion; they
are accomplices in millions. If she has knowledge of the seriousness of the act and the
canonical penalty attached thereto, she can incur an automatic excommunication. What of
those who enabled millions of such abortions? Is it to be believed that they are immune
from culpability? Infinitely more deserving of the canonical penalty are those Catholic
politicians who foster the laws and structures that enable such outrageous crimes against
humanity. A pastor who permits such an elected or appointed official—especially if they
purport to be Catholic—to skate along relatively unscathed on such morally thin ice, is
perhaps the most negligent and the most culpable of all. To fail to publicly censure such
public officials is tantamount to participating in their crimes.
If there is ignorance, instruct the ignorant. If there is obstinacy, exact the canonical
penalty. To fail to do so results not only in ignorance and obstinacy, but negligence and
permissiveness: the fertile soil in which a degenerating culture can multiply its errors,
bear evil fruit, and die. Religious leaders are in a unique position to influence the nation
and the world for the better by calling their people to high moral standards. Failure to do
so ultimately results in disaster, for the moral demise of a nation always precedes the
ultimate demise of a nation.
Among some Church leaders there is an understandable fear of acting decisively, now.
This is, obviously, because the pain of the recent sex abuse scandals is so fresh in the
mind of a rightfully indignant public. However, if the Church should fail to exercise her
solemn pastoral duty at such a critical moment in history, it is likely that this further lack
of decisive action will prove fatal for the last vestiges of respect remaining for the
leadership of the Church. Because we at times may have failed to act appropriately and
decisively in one matter shouldn’t consign us to a perpetual paralysis of the will to do
good in other matters. Fear of criticism, loss of a tax advantage, or political expediency
should never deter us from our sacred duty.
There is no excuse whatever for a Catholic politician who supports such
morally outrageous perversions of authentic justice such as abortion, partial-birth
abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, and same-sex marriage. The hierarchy of the
Church ultimately must severely censure them and make such censure public. The sin is
egregious and public. The redress must be commensurately severe and public, precisely
because of that. The hour is late indeed. Can it be imagined that the hand of the heavenly
Father “who chastises every son He loves” (Cf. Jdt 8:27, Prv 3:12, Sir 30:1) will be held
back indefinitely? We are poised on the edge of a precipice; a definitive moment in
history has come. If the morally toxic wasteland that used to be the greatest nation on the
face of the earth isn’t accorded “moral superfund” status soon, then will not the wake-up
call that was 911 pale into insignificance at the moral day of reckoning that is inexorably
coming? Even if one doesn’t care to believe that God punishes, He surely corrects out of
love, and often He uses the blunt instrument of our enemies to do so.
Every person of good will, above all Catholics in virtue of what their faith requires of
them, must properly form their conscience to the objective norm of the true and the good:
to that which is in accord with right reason, justice, and traditional moral values, and then
vote in accordance with that well formed conscience.
God bless America!
Fr. John Corapi SOLT, STD