Catholic values and voting for the lesser of two evils

[Catholic Piety]

A sincere Catholic cannot possibly vote for Joe Biden because he is staunchly pro-abortion. In fact, Biden said that if elected he would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood, one of the most notorious abortion rackets in the US.

However, as a pious Catholic with a strong moral compass, I'm not so sure I can vote for Trump, either.

Some people have described Trump as the most pro-life president ever, but his track record shows he is not consistently pro-life. For example, he supports abortion in cases of rape or incest. Since life begins at conception, this wouldn't be any different than killing a two-year-old because his father was a rapist or an inbreeder.

I'm certainly not a fan of Trump's unwavering support for Israel, a nation that is committing horrible violent crimes against the Palestinians, a small minority of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Many conservatives who value life argue that it's important to vote for Trump despite the fact that he isn't perfect, since it would be terrible if a pro-abortion Democrat became the president.

But still, the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils is bothering my conscience. If someone were to vote for the lesser of two evils, he would still be an accomplice to evil. I feel like I can only vote for a Catholic politician who values Church teachings and life; that if I were to vote for someone who isn't consistently pro-life, whose morality is questionable (here I am referring to the fact that Trump has married three times and divorced twice), and is for all practical purpose in a state of unrepentance, I would be committing a sin.

I admit I feel conflicted. On the other hand, I feel like voting for the lesser of two evils is a sort of civic duty, since the more evil candidate would implement anti-life policies and would be a disaster for America.

I would appreciate any words of advice or input from fellow believers who share my feelings on this subject.

 

[Basil the Great]

You can always follow in my footsteps and vote for a Third Party candidate. Yes, I know, all my family and friends claim that such is a wasted vote. However, I say that it is a wasted vote to keep voting for the Dems and the Repubs, as all they care about is obtaining and keeping power and it seems that they enjoy refusing to cooperate together for the good of the country.

 

[Fantine]

Pope Francis says the Church is meant to form consciences and not replace them. My diocesan newspaper in a very conservative state contained a centerfold spread of articles emphasizing prayerful discernment of the issues and an end to the discord and finger pointing in parishes at election time. A Catholic has no "perfect choices." Both abortion and racism and other issues are intrinsic evils.

One can vote for any candidate despite their problematic positions but not because of them.

In my case, I consider President Trump to be the most dangerous leader in the world and the idea that he might be "the lesser of two evils impossible" unless Lucifer himself was on the ballot.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

I'm more into ,what a president does for the poor, gay people, my BC rights . The list goes on.

 

[SkyWriting]

A sincere Catholic cannot possibly vote for Joe Biden because he is staunchly pro-abortion.

We don't decide this kind of thing for other people. End

 

[zippy2006]

But still, the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils is bothering my conscience.

Is this your first time voting?

Pope John Paul II says the following in Evangelium Vitae:

A particular problem of conscience can arise in cases where a legislative vote would be decisive for the passage of a more restrictive law, aimed at limiting the number of authorized abortions, in place of a more permissive law already passed or ready to be voted on. Such cases are not infrequent. It is a fact that while in some parts of the world there continue to be campaigns to introduce laws favouring abortion, often supported by powerful international organizations, in other nations-particularly those which have already experienced the bitter fruits of such permissive legislation-there are growing signs of a rethinking in this matter. In a case like the one just mentioned, when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects. (EV #73)
​

This is directly analogous to your situation. You are not a legislator, but you are someone who is opposed to abortion and yet desires to vote for Trump in order to limit the harm done by our permissive abortion laws. According to Catholic moral principles it is not illicit to vote for Trump because he favors rape and incest exceptions for abortion. Despite the fact that he does favor these exceptions, he would attempt to significantly limit the harm done by our pro-abortion laws.

 

[paul1149]

If someone were to vote for the lesser of two evils, he would still be an accomplice to evil. I feel like I can only vote for a Catholic politician who values Church teachings and life;

If you're waiting for perfection you're going to have a long wait. Politics is about real world compromise.

In the parable of the nobleman, the protagonist tells his followers to occupy until he returns. The word for occupy is pragmatuei, from which we get pragmatism. The citizens of that land were by and large hostile, and the nobleman, speaking for Jesus, was saying it's not going to be easy or straightforward; they were going to have to employ wisdom and at times settle for partial victories.

When I'm on a plane, I want the pilot to know how to fly. His religious convictions, his personal life are distant seconds.

Trump is the most prolife president in history. But because he's not perfect you won't vote for him? Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good. I have absolutely zero compunction about voting for him. No first principles will be violated.

 

[Fantine]

Respectfully, "not perfect" doesn't even scratch the surface to uncover the moral void in President Trump's character.

204,000 needless deaths caused by a president who denied, obscured, and ridiculed a pandemic to keep the economy going, ignoring the scientists and pushing potentially poisonous treatments is not pro-life.

Neither is trying to throw 23 million off health care in a pandemic.

Or separating children from their parents in overcrowded, dirty conditions.

For starters...smh.

I respect your right to define pro-life as narrowly as you wish, but we can easily see how much these minimally low standards as to what "pro-life" means hurts our country.

 

[only a sojourner]

You could vote for Brian Carroll the presidential candidate for the Amercan Solidarity Party if he is on the ballot in your state. The party is Christian and pro-life but also does not take the extreme positions on immigration and other issues that Mr Trump advocates.

The argument against voting for the Solidarity Party is that you are throwing your vote away. You can of course vote for Trump, on the basis of his support for abotion and close your eyes to other issues if they do not rise to the same level of importance in your mind. Or you can simply not vote.

 

[only a sojourner]

Correction. I meant to say that you can vote for Trump on the basis of his anti-abortion stance and close your eyes to other issues if they do not rise to the same level of importance in your mind.

 

[HARK!]

You can always follow in my footsteps and vote for a Third Party candidate. Yes, I know, all my family and friends claim that such is a wasted vote. However, I say that it is a wasted vote to keep voting for the Dems and the Repubs, as all they care about is obtaining and keeping power and it seems that they enjoy refusing to cooperate together for the good of the country.

I don't buy into the "wasted vote" mindset. I don't view voting one's conscience as a waste. Voting Third Party sends a message to the Parties in power. They want your vote. They will either adapt, or they will lose those votes.

A vote for the lesser of two evils, is still a vote for evil.

 

[Nithavela]

A sincere Catholic cannot possibly vote for Joe Biden because he is staunchly pro-abortion. In fact, Biden said that if elected he would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood, one of the most notorious abortion rackets in the US.

However, as a pious Catholic with a strong moral compass, I'm not so sure I can vote for Trump, either.

Some people have described Trump as the most pro-life president ever, but his track record shows he is not consistently pro-life. For example, he supports abortion in cases of rape or incest. Since life begins at conception, this wouldn't be any different than killing a two-year-old because his father was a rapist or an inbreeder.

I'm certainly not a fan of Trump's unwavering support for Israel, a nation that is committing horrible violent crimes against the Palestinians, a small minority of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Many conservatives who value life argue that it's important to vote for Trump despite the fact that he isn't perfect, since it would be terrible if a pro-abortion Democrat became the president.

But still, the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils is bothering my conscience. If someone were to vote for the lesser of two evils, he would still be an accomplice to evil. I feel like I can only vote for a Catholic politician who values Church teachings and life; that if I were to vote for someone who isn't consistently pro-life, whose morality is questionable (here I am referring to the fact that Trump has married three times and divorced twice), and is for all practical purpose in a state of unrepentance, I would be committing a sin.

I admit I feel conflicted. On the other hand, I feel like voting for the lesser of two evils is a sort of civic duty, since the more evil candidate would implement anti-life policies and would be a disaster for America.

I would appreciate any words of advice or input from fellow believers who share my feelings on this subject.

I think that if you don't want to vote for either candidate, you shouldn't. You should still participate in the election because you can vote for more local stuff.

I also would take a long, hard look in how much the republican party is really interested in abolishing abortion. For many voters, their "opposition" of abortion is the only reason to hold their noses and vote for the GOP. What interest would the republican have in outlawing abortion? How would they win elections after that?

After all, the Republicans have been largely in power for 4 years. Sure, they defunded some organisations to throw the anti-abortion crowd a bone, but has there been any real change?

 

[Fantine]

I don't buy into the "wasted vote" mindset. I don't view voting one's conscience as a waste. Voting Third Party sends a message to the Parties in power. They want your vote. They will either adapt, or they will lose those votes.

A vote for the lesser of two evils, is still a vote for evil.

On the other hand, if democracy is burning, do you call the bucket brigade instead of the fire department?

My conscience would not allow me to.oppose the most dangerous leader in the world by calling the bucket brigade.

 

[KCfromNC]

A sincere Catholic cannot possibly vote for Joe Biden because he is staunchly pro-abortion. In fact, Biden said that if elected he would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood, one of the most notorious abortion rackets in the US.

However, as a pious Catholic with a strong moral compass, I'm not so sure I can vote for Trump, either.

If you're "not sure" you can vote for a guy who tear-gassed people gathering at a church to make way for one of his photo ops, maybe it is time to reconsider what metric you're using for choosing candidates. I get that abortion has been pushed on a certain group of voters, but take a step back and look at what you're being fed vs. the actual problems confronting the country.

 

[KCfromNC]

Trump is the most prolife president in history.

Huh? He had control of the House, Senate and White House for the first half of his term. How many anti-abortion laws did they pass?

Perhaps consider that abortion is an issue that's being used to manipulate voters, not one which the far right has any intention of actually doing anything about. And consider if you're willing to continue to be taken advantage of like that.

 

[Tiberius Lee]

A sincere Catholic cannot possibly vote for Joe Biden because he is staunchly pro-abortion. In fact, Biden said that if elected he would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood, one of the most notorious abortion rackets in the US.

However, as a pious Catholic with a strong moral compass, I'm not so sure I can vote for Trump, either.

Some people have described Trump as the most pro-life president ever, but his track record shows he is not consistently pro-life. For example, he supports abortion in cases of rape or incest. Since life begins at conception, this wouldn't be any different than killing a two-year-old because his father was a rapist or an inbreeder.

I'm certainly not a fan of Trump's unwavering support for Israel, a nation that is committing horrible violent crimes against the Palestinians, a small minority of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Many conservatives who value life argue that it's important to vote for Trump despite the fact that he isn't perfect, since it would be terrible if a pro-abortion Democrat became the president.

But still, the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils is bothering my conscience. If someone were to vote for the lesser of two evils, he would still be an accomplice to evil. I feel like I can only vote for a Catholic politician who values Church teachings and life; that if I were to vote for someone who isn't consistently pro-life, whose morality is questionable (here I am referring to the fact that Trump has married three times and divorced twice), and is for all practical purpose in a state of unrepentance, I would be committing a sin.

I admit I feel conflicted. On the other hand, I feel like voting for the lesser of two evils is a sort of civic duty, since the more evil candidate would implement anti-life policies and would be a disaster for America.

I would appreciate any words of advice or input from fellow believers who share my feelings on this subject.

Keep in mind Republican platform also support Death Penalty, which contradict Vatican’s position.

Honestly I can’t tell you what you should do.. I , myself struggled these question for many years and I still do. I am a pro-life , I believe human life began at conception and from Biblical point of view abortion is sin. But same goes for death penalty. I know many evangelical will show some O.T. verses and law where O.T. clearly says death penalty is a Biblical law, but by the time you finish N.T. the “Gospel”, “the Grace of Christ” and the “ Doctrine of Salvation” clearly supersede the O.T’s death penalty. My personal view is death penalty is not Biblical.

 

[Basil the Great]

Keep in mind Republican platform also support Death Penalty, which contradict Vatican’s position.

Honestly I can’t tell you what you should do.. I , myself struggled these question for many years and I still do. I am a pro-life , I believe human life began at conception and from Biblical point of view abortion is sin. But same goes for death penalty. I know many evangelical will show some O.T. verses and law where O.T. clearly says death penalty is a Biblical law, but by the time you finish N.T. the “Gospel”, “the Grace of Christ” and the “ Doctrine of Salvation” clearly supersede the O.T’s death penalty. My personal view is death penalty is not Biblical.

Always nice to see someone who is consistent on the issue of life. Too many Christians still oppose abortion and yet favor the death penalty.

 

[driewerf]

You can always follow in my footsteps and vote for a Third Party candidate. Yes, I know, all my family and friends claim that such is a wasted vote. However, I say that it is a wasted vote to keep voting for the Dems and the Repubs, as all they care about is obtaining and keeping power and it seems that they enjoy refusing to cooperate together for the good of the country.

Answer you family and friends with this quote: "it's better to vote for what you want and don't get it, than to vote for what you don't want and get it."
The quote isn't mine (sadly), but i cant' remember who said or wrote it.

 

[Albion]

You could vote for Brian Carroll the presidential candidate for the Amercan Solidarity Party if he is on the ballot in your state. The party is Christian and pro-life but also does not take the extreme positions on immigration and other issues that Mr Trump advocates.

It is, in fact, a party that doesn't stand for anything distinctive. It just agrees in some ways with the Republicans and in other ways with the Democrats.

And its nominees are only on the ballot in 8 states.

So, if a person is minded to vote third party, he probably should find the one that really reflects some particular political perspective that he, the voter, agrees with and which does not apply to either of the major parties. Conservative or Liberal or Libertarian or Christian, etc.

 

[paul1149]

He had control of the House, Senate and White House for the first half of his term.

No he didn't. Paul Ryan did everything he could to sabotage Trump and his agenda, including retiring early but staying in the position as a lame duck.