A Letter to Catholic Voters

Catholic Christians can never support any politician or party, regardless of their support of other social concerns and issues, that advocates abortion

AUBURN, Alabama (Catholic Online) - This presidential election offers American Catholic voters two presidential and vice-presidential candidates from very diverse backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. For the first time in our nation's history, a Black American is the presidential standard bearer for one of the two political parties. What are the issues that Catholic voters should concern themselves with and where does each of these candidates stand in those regards? How does one's Catholic identification affect this and all election decisions? Should Catholic politicians bring their Catholic moral views in to the public policy arena?

Since the election of Jack Kennedy in 1960, where in a campaign speech he told a non-Catholic group that his religion would not be the basis of his decisions nor would the Church, and it's Successor to the Chair of Peter, be imposed on the American people, there have many prominent Catholic politicians who have echoed those same positions but have gone further by either misrepresenting the Church's beliefs and teachings or proclaiming views and positions contrary to those beliefs and teachings. In many cases Church leadership, Bishops and priests, failed to publicly correct those misrepresentations or rebuke the error of the politicians involved. Many such politicians have continued to maintain that they are devout, practicing Catholics in spite of these erroneous positions and records of promoting issues contrary to their Catholic faith.

Recently this happened again when the Catholic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said erroneously, that the Catholic Church does not know when life begins, consequently, abortions any time during pregnancy is morally acceptable. At least sixteen Cardinals and Bishops immediately issued correction statements to the press as to this blatant misrepresentation. The Church for two thousand years has consistently maintained that abortion is morally wrong and the fact that no one can support abortion and still claim to be in good standing with the Church. Senator Biden, another Catholic and Vice-presidential candidate, offered another confusing opinion quoting St. Thomas Aquinas' writings about the biological stages of life. The Church's teaching is and has been that abortion is a "grave sin" an "unspeakable crime" and cannot be justified at any time during pregnancy. St. Thomas Aquinas' theological position was consistent with this teaching.

Many will say that there are other issues that voters should take into consideration, in addition to the candidate's abortion beliefs, generally including: the war in Iraq, poverty, illegal immigration and other social issues. However, abortion overshadows all those since it concerns whether an innocent person lives or dies. All other life issues after birth are secondary to securing life at its origin, conception. Biological science tell us that up until that moment of conception it is still two separate things, an egg and a sperm, but after that, it's a new living being, not the mother nor the father. Ms. Alveda King, niece of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, said: "We can talk about poverty; we can talk about the war (Iraq); we can talk about incarceration, however, if we're not allowed to live, we'll never encounter those issues. Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother, and the mother decides his or her fate".

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Some Catholics think that their moral views should be kept to themselves, however, if as Catholics we believe the Church teaches what God wants man to know, how can we not want to see society adopt these highest norms? Carl A. Anderson,Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus, in a letter to Senator Biden correcting his erroneous "Catholic" thinking, reminded him that it was the moral convictions of the Abolitionists and the Civil Rights movements that led to the end of slavery and racial discrimination, where Blacks were considered "non-persons" under law.

If as our Constitution says: we have inalienable rights from our Creator of-- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, are there not also moral standards from our Creator that uphold, protect and defend those basic gifts? Is there any moral beliefs and teachings of the Catholic faith that are not universal and if followed, are not beneficial to all people? We have heard Catholic politicians in the recent past state that their personal belief is consistent with the Church's moral teaching, however, they would not impose it on others. Could this approach be justified during the period of slavery; saying I'm against slavery personally, but if others want to have slaves, I can't bring myself to impose my views? Obviously not!

Catholic Christians can never support any politician or party, regardless of their support of other social concerns and issues, that advocates abortion! We must bring our Catholic moral beliefs into the public domain and elect politicians who uphold these basic moral standards that protect the dignity and life of each person, from conception to natural death; to vote otherwise contradicts our very Christian beliefs and identity and offends our most loving GOD.

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