Danger of single issue decisions

The danger of single issue decisions

I am an active Roman Catholic priest.  I am opposed to abortion and I wish we Roman Catholics in leadership had done and continue to do a much better job of promoting the dignity of every human being from the moment of human life within the womb of a woman to the day of death. 

At the same time I am strongly opposed to the view that is espoused by far too many Catholic clergy, Religious and laity that declares that opposition to abortion is the overriding issue when making choices of candidates for any position of public office from members of Congress to Supreme court justices. I am not alone in that position. Actually the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agrees with that position.

In their document “Forming Consciences for

Faithful Citizenship,” they state “Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-

formed conscience that perceives the proper

relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot

Vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil , such as abortion, euthanasia  …

or racist behavior,  if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.

There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a

candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for a truly grave reason, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.” (#s 34 -35)

I appreciate  the carefully composed statement of

our Catholic bishops. At the same time, I was and

continue to be disappointed at the way far too

many Catholics understood that document and

voted accordingly.

I am even more concerned at the way too many

Catholic bishops and clergy misused this document to teach Catholics that they could not in good conscience vote for a candidate who was “pro-choice”. I read of a Catholic priest who

declared to parishioners that Catholic could not in good conscience vote for a Democrat. I spent time in a online conversation with a bishop who claimed that this one issue was so overriding that no other issues could override it. He serves in a state that ordinarily would have voted Democrat and this time voted for Trump in a close vote.

To this day, I am convinced that one of the major

reasons we have the President we have today is

 because of the position and teaching of Catholic

clergy regarding how to vote. I would hope by this time that many see the wisdom of what the bishops wrote about the reality of situations when it is fitting to vote for someone who may support what the Church teaches as intrinisically evil. We would not be in the sad situation that voting focused on one issue can lead to.

However, my concern is not only with the past. It is also with the present.  Once again, I am hearing and reading that Catholics ought to be excited about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh , a Catholic, to the Supreme Court as it will raise the possibility of the overthrow of Row v Wade.

In the July 23, 2018 issue of America magazine, the

Editorial page stated that “anyone who recognizes the humanity of the unborn should support the nomination of a justice who would help return this issue to the legislative arena. Overturning Roe would save lives and undo a moral and constitutional travesty.”

That may or may not be the case but is that the only issue that people  who oppose abortion ought

to focus on in dealing with Brett Kavanaugh’s

Nomination? I do not think so and I think there can

be a case made that this nominee’s position on issues of Catholic Social teaching related to union rights, immigration, environment, and health care deserve deeper scrutiny, just as ought to have been the case for the candidates in the recent Presidential election.  In an enthusiastic effort to see Roe v Wade overturned and to have more

pro-life members on the Supreme Court or in

government, I think it is important to realize that there is much more to being pro-life  than being opposed to abortion.