Every election is a tale of two virtues

Archdiocese of Denver ^ | 30 October 2002 | Archbishop Charles Chaput

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Every election is a tale of two virtues

By Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

October 30, 2002

Every election is a tale of two virtues: prudence and courage.

Prudence is the right rudder of reason, the virtue that helps us judge what we should do in any particular circumstance to achieve good and avoid evil.

In politics, prudence seeks the common good by weighing alternatives, making reasonable compromises and avoiding unnecessary conflict. Not every campaign issue is life and death, and no candidate is perfect. Good people can often choose to vote for very different political courses.

Of course, prudence also shows us which compromises can be made, and which can’t; which conflicts can be avoided, and which really do need to be engaged.

Here’s an example. Like Bishop José Gomez, I believe Amendment 31 is a bad idea. If passed, it will create many more problems than it solves. I’ll vote against it on Nov. 5. But I know decent men and women who disagree with me, and while Amendment 31 is an important issue and a potentially serious mistake, the harm it might do could later be remedied. Whatever happens to Amendment 31, the outcome won’t fundamentally damage the common good.

Here’s a very different example. Several prominent candidates in this year’s election have made “abortion rights” a centerpiece of their campaign. The hypocrisy in “pro-choice” sloganeering runs very deep. Every abortion kills an unborn child. Every abortion leaves a woman emotionally scarred. Every abortion is a grave act of violence. All of these things fundamentally damage the common good.

Of course, we already knew that. But the abortion lobby isn’t satisfied. As we saw in last week’s Denver Catholic Register, many “pro-choicers” are happily pro-coercion when it comes to other people’s moral convictions.

Pro-abortion activists have been attacking the freedom of conscience of Catholic and other health-care providers for years. We’re long past the point when “pro-choicers” talked about the tragedy of abortion and the need to make it safe and rare. The abortion lobby now wants abortion available anywhere, anytime, for any reason, and preferably for free. And they don’t care whom they bully or coerce, or what basic rights they violate, to get it.

The only way to stop this coercion is to send the right men and women to Congress – men and women who will protect the freedom of conscience of Catholic and other health-care providers by law.

Every election year I hear from a few Catholic voters desperately looking for a way to evade or “contextualize” the abortion issue. Some complain that the Church is imposing her views on society at large. Others argue that they personally oppose abortion, but that it should be sheltered as a matter of private choice. Others want to minimize the gravity of abortion by weighing it against a dozen other social issues.

None of these arguments finally has merit.

First, democracy depends on good people working vigorously for their convictions in the political arena. Abortion is the worst kind of intimate violence. Being quiet about it in our politics out of a misguided sense of “good manners” is the worst kind of callousness, and the worst kind of citizenship.

Second, if we choose to allow violence, we can’t wash our hands of the consequences of that violence. No violence is ever private. That includes abortion. What we choose to allow, we choose to own.

Third, abortion is separated from other important social issues like affordable housing by a difference in kind, not a difference in degree. Every abortion kills an unborn human life -- every time. No matter what kind of mental gymnastics we use, elective killing has no excuse. We only implicate ourselves by trying to provide one.

Jesus told His disciples to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Our souls belong to God – not to Caesar. As Catholics, our relationship with the surrounding political order will always involve a crisis of reflection and judgment. Our debates about politics and policies are always questions of faith.

Every election is a tale of two virtues: prudence and courage. Courage is the bravery to do what is right in the light of our faith, even if we fear the consequences. Without courage, prudence very quickly becomes an alibi for cowardice.

We could all use a little more courage this election year. If we’re Catholic, we should act like it. We get the elected officials we deserve, and I’m not willing to accept the hypocrisy and bullying of “pro-choice” political candidates and the abortion lobby that supports them.

I will vote for no candidate – Republican, Democrat or third party -- who is actively “pro-choice.” Congress deserves better than that. So does Colorado. So does our nation.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

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[nickcarraway]

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