During an election year, discussions
tend to become very heated – especially when the subject includes matters that
one cares very deeply about.
Many
issues like the death penalty, war, immigration, health care, education, etc.
are debatable matters for Catholics. There
are pro and con arguments for all of these issues. For example, whereas, the Church doesconsider healthcare and education
to be basic rights – it does not go so far as to say that they
must be paid for by the government.
By contrast, issues like Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic stem cell
research, Cloning, and Same-sex
“marriage” are non-negotiable issues for Catholics because they are
intrinsically evil. There are never acceptable reasons for any of
these abominations.
For example, education is an
important issue – but it does not trump abortion. There may be just reasons for war but there
is never a just reason for euthanasia. The economy and how we approach the solutions
for making it better are important issues – but they are debatable. Homosexual
“marriage” on the other hand, is not debatable. It’s always
contrary to the will of God.
Another hot-button topic is
illegal immigration. Although we need to
remember that there is a reason it is referred to as “illegal” immigration - there are arguments for both sides. However, regardless of which side of the
debate you stand on, it will never trump the proliferation of embryonic stem-cell research or human cloning which are direct affronts to
the dignity of life. Our responsibility as Catholics is to vote for candidates
who do not include these non-negotiable issues on their agenda.
Who we vote for is
just as important as what we are in
favor of. If we purposely vote for a
candidate because they stand for non-negotiable issues like abortion,
then we are placing ourselves in a spiritually-dangerous position, even limiting
our ability to receive communion.
However, we might be free to vote for a candidate, even if they are Pro-Choice
– IF there are mitigating proportional
reasons. These could include the fact
that the other candidate might be in favor of all five of the non-negotiable issues, whereas the only other
candidate might only support the one.
It’s the “lesser of two evils”
conundrum.
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