Catholic Action: Voting the Catholic Conscience

We must inform our conscience and participate politically as faithful Catholic citizens.

Does a candidate's opposition to a clear matter of Church teaching justify a Catholic's vote if the candidate also supports other important social justice issues? The Church outlines for us the order of priority that should be given to our political decision making and participation, even while strongly discouraging blind adherence to a particular political party or ideology. We must inform our conscience and participate politically as faithful Catholic citizens.

NASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - Important elections are looming in this country in the next few days, elections in which both parties address critical issues. How does a responsible Catholic prioritize the seemingly competing political platforms and agendas in light of Church teaching? What to do in this election about contrary social justice issues, about those who vote or govern outside of clear Church teachings, because they "conscientiously" object to them? What about Catholics and others who will legislate based on what are today being called "progressive" ideas - such as gay "marriage"? What about those who claim to be "pro-choice", a euphemism for pro-abortion? Can we justifiably vote for them if they also support other social justice issues that we consider important?

In many cases, Catholics prioritize according to what they think is their "conscience". Self styled "Progressive Catholics" like Pelosi, the late Kennedy +, Kerry, Schwarzenegger, Dodd, Foley, and Sebelius, all claim(ed) to be Catholics in conformity with the Pope and Magisterium while working in the public sphere toward legislation and political policies which are contrary to Church teaching. Adding to the confusion, sometimes ignorant or dissenting clergy teach that adults need only be obedient to the spirit of God found in one's "conscience" - regardless of whether that conscience is properly formed - so that this incorrect notion of "conscience" (namely unformed or ill formed conscience) is held supreme.

Conscience or Willful Ignorance?

Many legislators and voters argue that the individual "conscience" is the sole motivator of their personal choices or their work toward what they deem to be social justice. That phrase includes for them what they call abortion "rights" (in other words opposing the Right to Life) and gay "marriage" (undermining authentic marriage). Others simply believe, sometimes quite stridently, that these issues take a back seat to the economy, healthcare, wars, unbridled capitalism with little regard for the the poor, or their take on what it means to be concerned for the environment. They vote or work accordingly.

Oddly, they often use Church teachings on conscience to argue against true Church social teachings. For example, they cite something like this from the Catechism, incorrectly and out of context: "A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1790). They then seek to justify taking positions which are contrary to the clear teaching of their own Church. When the teaching of the Church on an issue and their notion of "conscience" are in conflict, they ask how can it be simultaneously true that Catholics must follow their consciences and also follow Church teaching?

We must understand that one's conscience engages his/her thoughts, personal opinions and individual judgments and perceptions. One's conscience is not infallible; conscience is merely one's "judgment of reason" (CCC 1778), subject to personal interpretation and not always or necessarily God's voice. It is to be properly formed in accordance with the truth. The truth can be known because it is revealed in the Natural Law and written on every human heart. It is also further expounded upon by Revelation and taught through the Magisterium, the teaching office, of the Church.  

Prioritizing issues according to an unformed or ill formed conscience can be ignorant, erroneous, dangerous and even result in one doing what is objectively evil. One's conscience can make serious errors in judgment when he/she, according to the Catechism, "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin." In such cases, the person is eternally culpable for the evil he commits or leads others to commit.

Neither are strong feelings decisive for the morality or the rightness of a person's conscience or actions (CCC 1768). Believing passionately in a position does not necessarily make it right or good. Ignorance, bad example by others, enslavement to one's passions and sin, a mistaken notion of independence of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and charity: these can all be sources of errors in judgment and moral conduct prompted by one's conscience (CCC 1790-1792). Those who vote, teach, legislate or work toward issues that are contrary to Church teaching reject true social justice which is always oriented toward and rooted in love and truth. This is why "[i]n matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent" (Lumen Gentium). One is only as Catholic as he or she assents to Church teaching.

Faith or Brainwashing?

Religious assent, however, is in no way "checking one's thinking at the door." It is a willful act of faith in Jesus Christ, who works and rules and guides through the Church which He established and through which He continues His redemptive mission. It is faith in the fact that He guides the teaching office of the Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is true even though men with faults sometimes rule and teach through her. This kind of willing assent is not mindless, robotic, dumber-than-dirt "groupthink". Nor is it true, as some seek to accuse, that the Church is "obsessed" with dogma, rules, bigotry, and led by old men who lust for power. That assertion, from any quarter, is simply insulting, and betrays an ignorance of Church history and Church teachers: Augustine, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, Edith Stein, John Paul II, Cardinal Newman. Were not these "thinking persons" of profound charity?

The Church teaches so rationally, and with such goodness, that if a dissenter really attended to her teaching in a spirit of truth he could do nothing but assent. In fact, the teachings of the Church on matters of faith and morals are so correct, that one might question the sanity of anyone who would question them and reject them. The exercise of the Magisterium, the teaching office, of the Church is not an assault upon individuality but a sign of contradiction in an age where each man would make himself his own legislator. This is especially obvious in this time when we are experiencing what Pope Benedict XVI rightly called a "Dictatorship of relativism". That the Church presents herself as an infallible authority concerning faith and morals is not an act of tyranny but is, as Blessed Newman writes, "a mark of divine wisdom and mercy."

The Holy Father has said that those who attempt to paint the truth in accord with individual interpretation or opinion are eventually left with a self-portrait. It is therefore simply wrong to state that one's unformed consciencesomehow frees an individual from the truth revealed in Church teaching, and those who make that claim are deceived and in defiance. One who chooses to act or vote contrary to Church teaching acts outside of the revealed truth of God's will. An understanding of Church teaching is in fact essential to a fully formed conscience, and helps guide an individual in making the distinction between one's opinions and a decision based soundly on the basis of what is true, real, and right.

Before voting, it is therefore every person's grave duty to form his conscience in goodness and truth, and to oppose practices which, although permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to the Law of God. Cooperation in such practices can never be justified, not by invoking respect for the freedom of others, or by appealing to civil law (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 399).

Prioritizing Social Justice

Catholics must teach, vote and work, then, not according to strong feelings, party affiliation, dear ideologies, or "personal truth", but according to a well-formed conscience that assents fully to the infallible, rational goodness of Christ speaking through the Church. As the Holy Father also taught in Deus Caritas Est, "The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society is proper to the lay faithful."For the lay faithful, political involvement is both a privilege and sacred duty. In voting or participating in democracy, the Church charges all believers with the obligation to respect the guiding principles of moral law: service to the common good, development of justice, peace and community, and transferring decision making to the lowest practical level (Compendium, 565-574).

"A well-formed conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals" (Participation of Catholics in Political Life, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). In making these decisions, it is essential for Catholics to be guided by a well-formed conscience that recognizes that all issues do not carry the same moral weight and that the moral obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions (Forming Consciences, a Call to Political Responsibility, USCCB). In Forming Consciences, the Church outlines for us the order of priority that should be given to our political decision making, even while strongly discouraging adherence to a particular political party or ideology:

1) Life - "'Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others' (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 5, USCCB). Two temptations in public life can distort the Church's defense of human life and dignity: The first is a moral equivalence that makes no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity...

"The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil." Abortion continues because too many Catholics do not assent with the Church in making this their top voting priority. If all Catholics voted against politicians who supported abortion rights, the scourge against the innocents would end.

2) The family - "The family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, is the first and fundamental unit of society and is a sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children. "It should be defended and strengthened, not redefined or undermined by permitting same-sex unions or other distortions of marriage. Respect for the family should be reflected in every policy and program. It is important to uphold parents' rights and responsibilities to care for their children, including the right to choose their children's education."

3) Human rights and dignity - Including the preeminent right to life, the right to religious freedom, education and healthcare, human rights are rooted in the dignity of the human person.

4) Preferential concern for the weak and vulnerable - A basic moral test for our society is
how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst.

5) Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers - The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation, even for immigrants, legal and illegal.

6) Solidarity - Loving our neighbor has global dimensions and requires us to eradicate prejudice and address the extreme poverty and disease plaguing so much of the world.

7) Environmental Stewardship - Care for the earth is a moral obligation, a duty of our faith and a sign of our concern for all people. We should strive to live simply to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

This Tuesday, may all Catholics seriously reflect on the moral dimensions of their voting priorities and their responsibility in them. May we apply well-formed consciences that assent fully to the infallible, rational goodness of Christ speaking through the Church, and so strive as one, together, toward true social peace and justice.

"And if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served or the gods of those in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Jos. 24:15).
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Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com.

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