Considerations in Deciding
Last week I held a current events discussion. One of the questions was very timely as we are just three months from elections. Therefore, I think it is a good topic to present here. A person asked, “What does the Catholic Church say about voting especially when neither candidate has the values I am looking for?” (the bold-italics-underlining are my own emphasis).
I respond first by writing that to me the word “neither” implies there are only two candidates. That is sometimes true but there can be more. Generally, the first two candidates are from the two major parties in our country. The other candidates and their parties may be unknown to us. In national elections, all of these candidates may not even appear on the ballots in every state. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good candidates.
We should consider these candidates in our voting. In the past we might not have even known they were on the ballot before we walked into the voting booth. Now, I find I can go online to the local board of elections website a couple of weeks before the election and find sample ballots. The sample ballots show all the candidates and propositions on the ballot. This then gives me a chance to research the candidates and the propositions.
Some feel voting for the third-party candidates is throwing away their vote. They are unlikely to win but is it really throwing away your vote if they are the candidate that shares your views on the issues? Even if they don’t win, with our vote maybe they can get enough votes to make a statement that we don’t like what is going on. As to throwing away our vote, if we vote for one of the two major party candidates even though we think they will do a poor job, isn’t that just like throwing away our vote?
If you are serious about your faith and your voting, I encourage you to read, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States with New Introductory Note (USCCB: Washington, DC. 2023). https://www.usccb.org/offices/justice-and-peace/forming-consciences-faithful-citizenship). It was first written in 2007 and has been updated every four years since.
The 2023 edition contains a new introductory note that begins, “As Catholics and Americans, we are blessed to be able to participate in our nation’s political and public life…Election seasons, therefore, should contain a sense of gratitude and hope…But increasingly, it seems, election seasons are a time of anxiety and spiritual trial. Political rhetoric is increasingly angry, seeking to motivate primarily through division and hatred…Demonizing the other can win votes.”
The latter part of this correctly captures how many people, including myself, feel about the current state of politics. I pray for candidates that will focus on their stance on the issues and the solutions they will work for. We tire of the negative campaigning.
We wonder if they are telling the truth. One person asked, “is politically lying a sin.” If we are deliberately lying, the lie violates the 8th commandment against bearing false witness. This seem especially true if a candidate is lying about their opposition. This would be a deliberate attempt to spread falsehoods for personal gain. It is unfortunate that in some cases, I wonder if they realize they are lying. They are so sure they are right, that they interpret everything according to their own opinion. We need to pray for all involved to realize what the truth really is and to see as God sees.
It is easy today to become disinterested in voting. Here, the U.S. bishops remind us, “as Catholics we are called to participate in public life in a manner consistent with the mission of our Lord” (1). Why? They later write, “As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting he common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person…As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life” (nos. 1913-1915)” (13).
Still, with what I have said so far, it is possible that we could find ourselves called to vote for an office where there are no acceptable candidates. The U.S. bishops address this in paragraph 36. When we have done “our homework” and decided there are no good candidates we may, at times, decide to vote for no candidate. However, we are still called to vote for other offices and propositions on the ballot.
Again, I encourage you to read the document for yourself. It addresses such issues as voting for a candidate that supports intrinsic evil (see paragraphs 22, 35). Among intrinsic evils it lists “abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, redefining marriage, etc.” We cannot vote for a candidate because they support these evils.
Here, it is especially important to distinguish between a person who wholeheartedly supports intrinsic evils and one who works to prevent them in steps when it is not possible to completely eliminate the evil now. Here, the U.S. Bishops point to Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae. Where he writes, “Such incremental improvements in the law are acceptable as steps toward the full restoration of justice” (USCCB, Evangelium Vitae, 73).
In paragraph 37, the U.S. bishops also remind us that we need to take into account “a candidate’s commitments, character, integrity, and ability to influence a given issue.”
What the bishops do not do is tell us which candidate to vote for. In both the introductory note and again later in paragraph 57, they clearly state that our Church speaks about issues, not candidates. At times you may see voter guides prepared by our Church. These are not designed to tell us which candidate to vote for. They are designed to inform us where all candidates stand on important issues. Part III of the U.S. bishops document speaks of what our Church sees as the key issues.
Another person asked another important question. “How we lessen the polarization in our society?” To do so, we need to understand where the polarization comes from. Here, I recommend Kenneth Craycraft’s new book, Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor. 2024). He speaks of the radical individualism we see in our country and then presents the solidarity of which our Catholic faith calls us.
We need to pray for genuine dialogue to replace the negative campaigning. In an effort to contribute to this, the U.S. Bishops started an initiative called “Let’s Civilize It.” You can find out more about this at https://civilizeit.org/ (For more on genuine dialogue, see my document “Seeking Real Dialogue”).
The elections are important. Please make prayer an important part of how you decide your vote. Please let what our faith teaches shape your vote. Please pray that we all see what is going on as God sees it (1 Samuel 16:7) and that we respond in accord with his Will.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff