Catholic Election Considerations: Forming One’s Conscience

Pope St. John Paul II noted, “It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all inalienable rights are founded and from which they develop.”

September marks early voting in many states. This election will be critical for our Church and our Constitution. The two are closely connected as the current assaults on the First Amendment will affect the Freedom of Religion, the right to assemble (e.g., in protest of abortion), and our freedom to speak out on the truth.

 Many of the issues in the upcoming election are of significant interest to Catholics. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) tells us that we are morally obligated to vote (CCC 2240). The Catholic Church teaches that we have to follow our properly formed conscience in all that we do. The US Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issues a document every four years to help Catholics in this endeavor; entitled Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, hereafter referred to as Forming Consciences. It states, in part, “Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith.” We have an innate sense of right and wrong, which we should not allow to be muddled by the secular society that wants to control us and our thoughts. As Bishop Sheen said, "Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right."

“The formation of conscience includes several elements. First, there is a desire to embrace goodness and truth. For Catholics, this begins with a willingness and openness to seek the truth and what is right by studying Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is also important to examine the facts and background information about various choices.” (emphasis added) Forming Consciences

Unfortunately, the decades of moral relativism have had their effect, causing many to suppress this natural understanding of good and evil, right and wrong. Their consciences have become corrupted by our “woke” society, much like a piece of software becomes corrupted and no longer functions properly. To paraphrase Pope St. Paul VI, the “woke” of Satan has infiltrated our society. Thus, we must make sure our consciences are properly formed by familiarizing oneself with the teachings of the Church. The USCCB, local dioceses, other Catholic organizations provide ample guidance for Catholic voters (e.g., EWTN, Catholic Vote, etc.).

The USCCB guidance says, first and foremost, that, “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself.” Why? Why is the issue of abortion important – for everyone? Because every abortion contributes to the culture of death, to the destruction of the family (the basic social unit which comes before any government), advances moral relativism, and thus to the disruption of the moral fiber of society. Abortion is contrary to the common good which “concerns the life of all: “respect for the human person, social well-being and development, peace.” (CCC, 1906) Besides not being Christian, it violates the basic necessity to protect human life and denies the humanity of a class of humans, much like the Nazis and slave owners denied the humanity of classes of human beings. “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.” Wisdom 1:13

But abortion isn’t the only intrinsic evil that weighs on our consciences. Other intrinsic evils include euthanasia, human cloning, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and research on human embryos. Those favoring such policies come up with lies like “death with dignity,” to support euthanasia and assisted suicide. But there is no dignity in murder be it murder of oneself or done by a doctor under the auspices of the state based on a claim that such a life that is no longer worth living. But every life has some value and needs to be cherished.

Consider IVF, which has garnered some attention recently. Each fertilized egg is a human entity with its own unique DNA and procedures such as IVF often end up with the killing of unused embryos or the need to abort some of the “excess” babies, as multiple eggs need to be implanted to increase the probability of success. Again, we’re back to murder and evil.

The Catechism tells us what we know intuitively, “One may never do evil so that good may result from it.” (CCC 1789) These things are sins and being compassionate toward sinners does NOT mean we condone their sin. We have to shine our light on these sins because they are evil. We cannot vote for candidates who advocate for evil. Jesus came into the world for this reason to shine His light on evil. This is why transparency is so important because it shines light on the deeds of those in power. “For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (Jn 3:19)

Other issues that complicate election decisions are other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, environmental concerns, poverty, and the death penalty. Add to this the need to consider the unintended effects of many policies such as those that are occurring with unchecked immigration, including human trafficking for slavery, organ harvesting, and the sex trade, often affecting minors (children). None of these add to the common good, which should be our overarching goal and guide.

Some will bring up the “Seamless Garment” (SG) or a Consistent Life Ethic (CLE) idea. The CLE strives to bring all life issues together, from “womb to tomb,” so to speak, and develop a philosophy of how we and the church should deal with them.  The problem with the CLE/SG discussion is not the philosophy itself but the way it is applied.  Cardinal Bernadin addressed this concern in his 1984 lecture at St. Louis University when he stated, “A consistent ethic of life does not equate the problem of taking life (e.g., through abortion and in war) with the problem of promoting human dignity (through humane programs of nutrition, health care, and housing).” 

Related to this is the difference between negotiable and non-negotiable policies. Non-negotiable policies address those issues affecting intrinsic evils which cannot be directly supported by Catholics, period. Opposition to intrinsic evils should be paramount in one’s voting decisions.

The application of the CLE concept by many politicians, public figures and even bishops, et al., conflates the issues of intrinsic evil (abortion, euthanasia, etc.) with issues that are more appropriately affected by differences of opinion with regard to implementation, i.e., conflating negotiable pragmatic applications with intrinsic evils. So, for instance, one side contends that we should have open borders, while the other takes the position that immigration should be controlled as necessary for the security and well-being of the nation.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) supports the latter position (CCC 2241).  The consequences of each approach and their impact on the common good need to be considered. So, is it better to allow uncontrolled immigration which has brought tons of drugs, drug lords, criminals and human traffickers into the country or is it better to observe a controlled border policy whereby immigrants are properly vetted as to the facts of a claim to asylum or their impact on society?

We see many Catholics today who may know that the Church is opposed to abortion but who have little or no knowledge of the other issues. This is borne out in polls that show Catholics actually favoring parties, candidates, and policies in direct opposition to Church teaching. Even within the Church hierarchy we see confusion and differing opinions on some of these issues. The unregulated flood of immigrants across the border is one of these areas. See article 2241 of the Catechism. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Catholics to know Church teaching and apply it, not only at election time but also in their daily lives.

More to follow.