Our Catholic faith is not segmented and compartmentalized—it should not be kept only to Sunday mornings. Rather, it ought to be the driving force behind everything we do and say. Our faith should take precedence over every other factor in all decisions we make.
This raises the question- how should Catholics decide whom to vote for?
First of all, we must identify our nation's predominant issues: poverty, the economy, education, immigration, and healthcare.
We can talk all we want about these big, abstract concepts, but until we begin to focus on the individual people who make up our Nation, none of those larger concepts even matter.
The Church has no political party. The Church is the Body fo Christ. What we vote in favor of must align with the values and teachings of Jesus and what will most benefit the members of the Body, most especially those who cannot defend themselves.
to feed the hungry
to give drink to the thirsty
to clothe the naked
to give shelter to travelers
to visit the sick
to visit the imprisoned
to bury the dead.
Every single issue fades when the very lives of the most vulnerable are at stake and being destroyed day by day.
"How should Catholics vote if neither candidate is pro-life?"
When we, as is the case in this election cycle, have no option to vote for a pro-life candidate, the following considerations must be made:
1. We cannot directly vote for any law expanding access to abortion.
“In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it” (Evangelium Vitae, 73).
This section of Evangelium Vitae is particularly interesting because it is so very explicit about what is and is not permitted! While this does not directly apply to those of us who are not lawmakers, we certainly have a say in electing the people who vote against and in favor of our laws, and we must be careful not to promote or support candidates who support such laws, and call them out using phone calls, letters, emails, etc. when they make a decision that directly goes against the protection of human life.
2. We cannot vote for a candidate because of their support for abortion.
This is kind of a no-brainer. No one of any religion or background should be voting in favor of or promoting unnatural death at any stage and for any reason (The most common issue of this type in the USA is abortion.) It is a grave sin to do so. Voting for a candidate because of their policies in favor of abortion, euthanasia, or the death penalty is sinful.
3. Even if the candidate's other policies are "good," we still cannot vote for them if doing so will cause danger and destruction of human life, which is so much more precious than anything else on the ballot.
Even if you align with one political party on most issues, you cannot vote for "your party's" candidate if they are in favor of wider access to the destruction of human life.
Now, what about in the case of this election year?
As we've learned, we cannot, as Catholics, in good conscience, vote for a candidate who is so clearly outspoken about and in favor of expanded abortion access.
When one candidate is highly in favor of abortion, and the other is in favor of abortion, but to a lesser degree or amount of time, as is the case with Harris and Trump, with Kamala in favor of unrestricted abortion access and Trump in favor of abortion only in the early stages of pregnancy and with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, we must vote for the candidate whose policies and beliefs will bring us closer and closer to making abortion unthinkable and unavailable, so that women, children, and families are safe.
Sadly, in this year's election, neither candidate is pro-life.
Both are in favor of abortion at varying levels. Harris is in favor of unrestricted access to abortion, and Trump is in favor of abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
So we must pray. Pray for the mercy of God for whoever is elected, that they will have a change of heart and come to see the horrible truth of abortion, and pray for our nation, and pray that the lives of all people will one day be protected, valued, and cared for in our nation.
