Bishop Thomas Tobin
Posted on 10/28/2014 1:56:47 PM PDT by NYer
The Gospel of life must be proclaimed, and human life defended in all places and all times. The arena for moral responsibility includes not only the halls of government, but the voting booth as well. (American Bishops, “Living the Gospel of Life”)
Prior to the recent primary election I received a heartfelt letter from a member of the Diocese who had just discovered that the candidate for whom she had intended to vote was “pro-choice and for same-sex marriage.” She wrote: “Dear Bishop Tobin, for whom do I vote? Do I vote at all?”
I responded to my letter-writer that it wasn’t appropriate for me to suggest candidates for whom she should or shouldn’t vote, but that it was important for her to become well-informed about the candidates and their positions, pray about it, and then vote according to her well formed conscience. I told her that I often faced the same dilemma. I also sent her a copy of the American Bishops’ document, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” that places in a broader context some of these important political decisions.
Bishop Thomas Tobin
It’s a real problem that many faithful Catholics face these days – how to vote when all of the candidates are pro-abortion. (Candidates euphemistically call it “pro-choice” but it’s really a stance that enables and promotes abortion, isn’t it?)
The dilemma is more excruciating when the candidates profess to be lifelong Catholics. As I said in my recent statement about Catholic politicians and abortion, “It is always disappointing when a Catholic candidate for political office abandons the teaching of the Church on the dignity of human life for the sake of self-serving political gain. Such actions demonstrate an inexcusable lack of moral courage . . . Abortion is a sin, and those who provide it, promote it, and support it will be held accountable by Almighty God for the unjust death of unborn children.”
What a pathetic spectacle Catholic candidates present when, having to choose between Planned Parenthood and the Catholic Church, they choose Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in our nation. Do these candidates have no respect for the religious heritage of their parents and grandparents? Have they no appreciation for the sacraments, the solid education, the communal support, and the moments of comfort and guidance the Church has provided for their family over many generations? And I wonder – when in the future these candidates are in need of prayers and blessings, the Last Rites of the Church, and then finally funeral services – will they turn to Planned Parenthood or the Catholic Church to stand by their side?
The Bishops’ document to which I’ve already referred gives some guidance in these questions. It explains, first of all, the importance of the virtue of prudence. “The Church fosters well-formed consciences not only by teaching moral truth, but also by encouraging its members to develop the virtue of prudence. Prudence enables us to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it.” (#19)
The Bishops then get a little more specific about voting. “Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. That is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience.” (#34) And this: “When all the candidates hold a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma.” (#36)
And that brings us back to the question posed by my letter writer: “Bishop Tobin, for whom do I vote?”
If we distill the guidance of the Church, it seems to me that when no candidate presents an acceptable position, especially about critical moral issues like abortion, the voter has three options.
The first is to choose the candidate who, in traditional terms, is the lesser of two evils. Let’s just say, for example, that one candidate promotes an extreme position on abortion, welcomes the endorsement of and eagerly embraces the evil agenda of Planned Parenthood, supports partial-birth abortion, and disdains the sincere convictions of pro-lifers; and another candidate would restrict abortion in some circumstances, opposes taxpayer funding of abortions, and is willing to work with and respect pro-lifers – a voter might properly choose the second candidate even though the position is flawed.
Secondly, as a kind of protest, a voter could decide to write-in the name of someone who represents pro-life values. In this scenario, one might vote for St. John Paul, Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, or our own local pro-life hero, Baby Angela! Even though this person surely wouldn’t be elected to office, a vote in that direction would send a clear signal that at least some voters won’t settle for anything less than a pro-life candidate. Contrary to what critics will charge, it’s not a wasted vote; it’s a sincere expression of conscience that upholds moral truth. And that’s never a waste!
Finally, a voter might well decide to skip this year’s election and not vote at all, or at least not vote for a particular office. Although Catholics have a general moral obligation to participate in the life of our nation, there are many ways to do that, and there’s certainly no obligation to vote in each and every election, particularly when the options are repugnant to the well-informed conscientious Christian voter.
I know, it’s a tough time to be a moral, pro-life voter. The field is narrow and the options are few. But, vote according to your conscience, pray for our state and nation, and sleep well. Remember,
God’s still in charge!
In fact, Kennedy apparently went to weekday Masses on Capitol Hill. And he certainly did receive when cameras were around. E.g., at Pope Benedict’s Mass at D.C. Stadium. (R.F.K. Stadium?)
the new bishop is a serious conservative and an improvement over previous ones. I have no idea what or how he plans to change things in the Diocese.
In the 1980s, we had a pro-abortion politician in Maryland, Connie Morella, who was lector at St. Bartholomew’s parish in Bethesda. This went on for years and years. Cardinal Hickey (Democrat in his DNA) didn’t lift a finger. Eventually, a new pastor arrived, and he ordered her to stop serving as a lector. I don’t recall the issue of Communion coming up. This was before Cardinal Burke’s “discovery” of Canon 915. (I.e., Cardinal Burke “discovered” that Canon 915 isn’t about the divorced-and-remarried. It’s about ALL public sinners.)
I have been praying for Cardinal Burke.
I will put him on my pray for list. If we could get this stopped, it would help a lot.
The Demonrat in the most trouble is said to be Bradley Schneider of IL-10, a thoroughly social revolutionary upper class enclave of materialist and mostly nominally "Republican" airheads. The GOP candidate is babykiller former one term Congresscritter Robert Dold. Neither Dold nor Schneider is remotely worth electing. The 10th District is an empty hole in the suburbs north of Sickago. The 10th was long the district so addled as to elect Mark Nancyboy" Kirk to Congress five times.
Every district deserves a pro-lifer. If none are available, it seems obvious that none deserve votes from pro-lifers. In Illinois, we have all we can do to resist a state party leadership that seems determined to enact the entire gay agenda and the entire babykilling agenda and the gun grabbing agenda if they could get away with it.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals substitutes so far in enforcing the Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Thank you, Judge Posner, and no thanks to the spineless worms who run the state GOP into the ground here in the Land of Lincoln.
I will vote against Nancyboy in 2016 if he runs again. His opponent in 2010 was Alexei Giannoulias, a thug and gangster and bankster from the somewhat conservative sliver of the Chicago Machine. Voting for Giannoulias is the most efficient way of eliminating a state level disgrace like Nancyboy Kirk who is fully competitive with such trash as Myth Romney or Whackobird McCain. I hope Giannoulias runs in 2016. If not, there will be several respectable third party candidates to choose from.
Obozo eagerly supported by such noted "Republican" toadies as Myth Romney, John McCain, Robert Dole, anyone named Bush, Weeper of the House John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, John Cornyn and all too many other "Republican" quislings share a passion to sell this nation down the river to the same sort of Wall Street barons who gave Connecticut the likes of Lowell Weicker and his state income tax.
My duty is, by any means necessary, to offer full resistance to such quislings. Most of these quislings favor baby-killing, "gay" everything, gun grabbing, reducing citizens of modest means to conditions of misery, and, inter alia, ever escalating taxes burdening everyone other than themselves.
The simple answer to the three cited catechism sections is that when the choice is between Hitler and Stalin, the response should be organizing an underground against both not sitting around weighing the respective merits of Hitler and Stalin to decide who should be the blood-soaked dictator du jour. By a narrow margin, no doubt. Likewise, military service is owed to neither but, if the opportunity presents, perhaps military service, uniformed or not, against both.
As a Roman pagan, Pilate would have seen his obligation to his emperor Tiberius and then to himself. Nonetheless, he extended himself repeatedly in efforts not approve the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
I get the impression that he did not want to execute Jesus but finally decided not to anger Annas and Caiaphas and the crowd before him. So, he refused to cooperate by sharing in the murderous passions of the crowd.
Every year, in most abortion mills in the USA, secularists commit murder against a total of 1.3 to 1.4 million innocent pre-born babies and cooperate in inducing the moral degeneracy of most of the mothers and others who are morally complicit. Dare I suggest that their sins outweigh any alleged culpability of those who refuse to choose and vote either for Obozo or for Myth Romney? Those who refuse to choose between such dreadful alternatives are quite unlikely to be secularists in any event.
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
I think you need a second opinion on Pilate’s sins and what significance it has to today’s culture war. I mistakenly thought there was a consensus about his place.
if I was in politics, I’m retired and participate solely in the minor leagues of state rep races and occasional primaries for Congress.
But the worse things get, the greater the duty. See Buchanan principles.
http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/Our_Culture/why_we_cant_quit_the_culture_war.htm
There have been no shortage of true conservative prolife candidates for state house in central CT. Numerous new people elected. I can see their exasperation with a constituency that has tuned everything out.
Gay Marriage roll calls .... hearings on assisted suicide ... over the past ten years. Without a peep of backlash. Many allies got picked off by leftists one at a time. Churches have tuned out.
I don’t know who we are fighting for when we’ve reached 90% nonparticipation. $1 million was spent to try to defeat Roraback and it failed due to a comatose constituency. Followed 2 years later by the conservative Boughton ending his Gubernatorial bid due to lack of cash.
THe Christian Boycott is brilliant.
Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction, by David Kuo, whom CBS delightedly described as “an evangelical Christian and card-carrying member of the religious right, who got a job in the White House in the president’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.”
Mr. Kuo is calling on his fellow evangelicals to undertake a political “fast.”
CBS itself would not urge evangelical conservatives to sit out the 2006 elections, but it would give Mr. Kuo prime airtime to do so.
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/gaynor/061019
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