Voting Our Conscience

It seems like we are always in an election season.  We are bombarded about the candidates and issues from all sides and are left to make the decisions of picking new leaders or voting in new laws and ordinances.  For the Catholic voter, there are some non-negotiable issues that we should remember before going to the polls.  They include, Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic stem cell research, Human cloning and Homosexual “marriage”.  

Many candidates run their campaigns in support of these issues while others either oppose them or avoid them altogether.  The truth is that many Catholics vote with a complete disregard for the truths of God as taught by his Church.

The Church, being the mystical Body of Christ, is the pillar and foundation of truth on which Christ himself bestowed his authority (Matt. 16:19, 18:15-18, Luke 10:16, John 16:12-15, 20:21-23).  The truth is not optional – it is not up for grabs.  John 14:6 tells us that Jesus the truth itself.  Rejection of the truth for one’s own version of it is called moral relativism, which simply put, is the sin of pride.

If every Catholic in the U.S. voted according to Biblical principles and what is taught in the Catechism, abominations such as abortion could be a thing of the past in this country.  The tragic fact is that many Catholics do not vote according to their faith and choose instead to elevate a variety of other, lesser important issues to the forefront.  For example, it can be said that Abortion is arguably the most important and urgent issue of our times, yet many Catholics will vote for candidates who are in full support of Abortion “rights”.  They vote against issues like Parental Notification while voting for euthanasia laws that are cleverly disguised as “Death with Dignity”.

In Matt. 5:14, 16, Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”  We must stop thinking as worldly people and think instead as Godly people.  We are, after all, his Body of which HE is the Head. Pope Pius V stated, “All the evils of the world are due to lukewarm Catholics.”  Sadly, his analogy was dead-on accurate.

We must remember that support of issues such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research are diametrically opposed to our beliefs as Christians.  Voting to proliferate this evil makes us partakers in it. We cannot claim innocence in the face of evil when we have done nothing to stop it - and we certainly can‘t claim that we are innocent when we actively participate in it.  Popular Catholic Evangelist, Fr. John Corapi once said, “You can’t be Catholic and pro-Choice – get that straight once and for all!”  Amen to that.