When does a vote become a sin ?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 10/02/2004 | Tim Townsend

[Graybeard58]

In a pastoral letter published Friday, Archbishop Raymond Burke tackled one of the stickiest issues he has faced so far as the leader of St. Louis' Roman Catholics. The letter addressed the sensitive topic of voting, sin and Holy Communion, and it delved into the moral law that the archbishop says dictates how Catholics in a secular democratic society must choose their leaders using the teachings of the church as their guide.

The letter itself was Burke's attempt at a final statement on a topic that has dominated his first summer as the city's prelate. It also was meant as a pastoral guide to clarify the subject that, he has said, has been confusing for St. Louis Catholics.

For reasons that have as much to do with election year presidential politics as Catholic moral teaching, local and national news media gave Burke's comments on Catholic politicians and voting great attention over the summer, and there was rampant speculation as to why he had — to use a familiar phrase of the summer — flip-flopped by September.

[Graybeard58]

Lot of words there but it sounds like a flip flop to me.

[RISU]

Avote for Kerry is a vote for rule by a globalist elite over a socialist/communist world. Is that a sin?

[GSlob]

You are right; there's a lot of confusing verbiage.
Voting ought to be counted as a sin:
when done by someone who should not be voting;
when done for the wrong cause, for the wrong candidate or party or position;
and finally, when the voter is not in the state of grace. For such a voter could only vote sinfully. (One of Church Fathers even wrote that the whole life of a sinner is a sin. Thus sinner's voting is a sin ipso facto)
The determination of these parameters, however, is best left to the voter in question.

[Cicero]

If you "procure and abortion," then that is a serious sin.

Cardinal Ratzinger made it clear this year that if a politician votes in such a way as to produce abortions, then he "must" not receive communion until he has publicly changed his ways. So voting in congress or taking other political action to increase abortions is essentially sinful.

Rome has not yet, however, said that you cannot vote for a politician who supports abortion IF you do so for other reasons.

This is what is known as a "prudential" matter. The individual voter is not free to vote however he likes and still remain sinless, but he has to balance one thing against another. A lot of American Catholics still vote for Democrats because they believe, or have been fooled into believing, that Democrats will help the poor, feed the hungry, bring peace to the world, and the like.

As far as I personally am concerned, I would consider that I had committed a sin if I voted for a pro-abort politician unless there was no other choice--i.e. two pro-aborts running against one another, but one of them clearly the worser of the two.

You need to vote your conscience. Regretably, Catholic education has been poor for the past 40 years, and a lot of people have badly formed consciences. But I believe the situation is on the mend. More Catholics vote pro-life every years.

Bishop Burke is correct to say that it is not automatically sinful to vote for a pro-abort politician. But all things being equal, it is probably sinful.

[Trainer]

Vote Catholic...Not Kerry

[excalibur21]

How can any Christian take a stand against God's will by supporting abortion, homosexuality and gay marriage? That is what people are doing when they vote Democrat and I know some Christians who are voting this way. Eventhough He is not partisan, I fear that He will consider it a slap in the face when they stand up (vote) for things that contradict His Word.

[Graybeard58]

As far as I personally am concerned, I would consider that I had committed a sin if I voted for a pro-abort politician unless there was no other choice--i.e. two pro-aborts running against one another, but one of them clearly the worser of the two.

I am not Catholic, never the less I have wrestled with this issue for years.

I live in Illinois and here it is mainly RINOs who are elected from the Republican party. People like Alan Keyes on a Republican ticket are rare. Keyes is pro life pro family and conservative as they come and I will vote for him. He doesn't have much chance of winning though. Many people bash Keyes, even here at FR.

I heard him say once that he would never vote for a candidate who was pro abortion even if both candidates were pro abortion. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

My other option would be to move to another state but that's not practical.

[Cicero]

If it's a RINO versus a Democrat, I usually consider whether that RINO votes with the Republicans on key bills. For instance, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins need to be RINOs to get elected, but they used to vote with the Republicans on major bills IF their votes were crucial. I don't think that's the case any more, regretably.

Lincoln Chaffee is nothing but a troublemaker. He has no redeeming value. If I lived in Rhode Island I would automatically vote for his opponent in hopes that sometime down the line a better Republican might turn up.

So I guess it depends how bad the RINO is and what the chances are of replacing him if you vote the Democrat in for one term. You have to be careful because the Democrat might become an incumbent for life.

When I was in Connecticut I voted for Lieberman because I was so desperate to throw Lowell Weicker out of office. Others must have felt the same, and Weicker lost. Regretably Lieberman has been in the senate ever since, but I don't regret throwing out Weicker even so. It was the best of a bad choice.

[sweetliberty]

It would be a sin to vote for someone who actively supported and promoted policies that you know to be sinful as defined by the Scriptures. Voting in violation of your conscience or in defiance of the teachings of the church in whose spiritual nuture you trust for guidance might also be a sin, although there might be more room there for questioning and soul-searching.

[michigander]

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.