Voting as a Faithful Catholic
The following is a talk given by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades on two occasions: at Theology on Tap in Fort Wayne on January 28, 2020, and at Moreau Seminary at Notre Dame on February 17, 2020.
My talk this evening will focus on the political responsibility of Catholics and on the role of faith and conscience in political life, including our duty to vote according to a well-formed conscience.
In our Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in political life is an obligation. The Church has a right and an obligation to bring moral truth to political life. “Some question whether it is appropriate for the Church to play a role in political life. However, the obligation to teach about moral values that should shape our lives, including our public lives, is central to the mission given to the Church by Jesus Christ. The Catholic community brings important assets to the political dialogue about our nation’s future” (FCFC 11). We bishops do not tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote. We seek to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth” (FCFC 7).
The Catholic Church has a rich body of teachings, based on faith and reason, that provide a moral framework for Catholics involved in political life: those who serve in public office and those who are running for political office, and also for all of us who are citizens and participate in political life by voting and by communicating our concerns to our elected officials. The rich body of teachings is our Catholic social doctrine based on four important pillars or principles: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. Taken together, these principles provide a moral framework for Catholic engagement in political life. We examine issues according to these principles. When we vote, we look at a candidates’ positions on the issues in light of Catholic social teaching and its principles. We also consider candidates’ integrity, philosophy, and performance. As Catholics, we are called to look beyond party politics, party affiliation, and mere self-interest. Our moral convictions should come first.
The teaching document of the U.S. Bishops on Catholic teaching and political life is entitled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” a document approved by the bishops back in 2007. It was updates and revised in 2015 in order to incorporate papal teaching from the latter part of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate and the early part of Pope Francis’ pontificate, but the main teachings of the document remained unchanged. It was more of an update in order also to take account of recent developments in the United States in both domestic and foreign policy. Also, in 2011, 2015, and 2019 (last year), we issued a new Introductory Note in order to point out particular issues and challenges in those particular years of preceding presidential elections. The Introductory Notes are written collaboratively by the chairmen of the principal committees of the USCCB, so I was involved in writing the 2011 and 2019 Introductory Notes. Now the main document has remained unchanged, except for modest revisions in 2015. We have chosen every four years to re-issue the document since we believe that the thrust of the document and the challenges it addresses remain relevant today.
I would like to summarize the key points of this teaching document of the U.S. Bishops on the political responsibility of Catholics, then I will focus on the new Introductory Note and the issues we bishops highlight as we approach this year’s elections.
Key points:
- To be a faithful citizen, one must first have a correctly formed conscience. To make good political choices, we must make prudential decisions that are based on well-formed consciences. So first, a well-formed conscience and, second, the virtue of prudence in decision-making. Now it is important to understand what conscience is, since people sometimes think conscience is just what they feel about what is right or wrong. The U.S. bishops explain what conscience truly is. We write in FCFC #17: “Catholics have a serious and lifelong obligation to form their consciences in accord with human reason and the teaching of the Church. Conscience is not something that allows us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere ‘feeling’ about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith.”
Now when it comes to political choices and voting, like other matters of moral decision-making in our lives, it is essential that we make prudent decisions in light of a well-formed conscience. The bishops explain that there are several elements included in the formation of conscience: “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…. It is also important to examine the facts and background information about various choices. Finally, prayerful reflection is essential to discern the will of God. Catholics must also understand that if they fail to form their consciences in the light of the truths of the faith and the moral teachings of the Church they can make erroneous judgments” (#18).
- The Virtue of Prudence. The virtue of prudence is very important. What is prudence? The Catechism teaches that it is the virtue that enables us “to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it (CCC 1806). It has to do with discernment. It is important in making choices in our life, including political choices. In light of a well-formed conscience, we then make decisions, for example in politics, on what legislation to support or oppose or which candidate to vote for. We look at the various alternatives and try to determine which is better. Here is what the bishops say: “Prudence shapes and informs our ability to deliberate over available alternatives, to determine what is most fitting to a specific context, and to act decisively. Exercising this virtue often requires the courage to act in defense of moral principles when making decisions about how to build a society of justice and peace” (FCFC 1919).
To form our consciences well in the area of political decision-making, it is necessary to know the principles of Catholic social teaching. “These are permanent principles that constitute the heart of Catholic Social teaching, and as such, they carry a profoundly moral significance, since they refer to the ultimate and organizational foundations of life in society” (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, “The Principle of Common Good in the Catholic Church’s Social Doctrine, 11 September 2018). Catholic social teaching addresses political, economic, and cultural issues of the day through the light of the Gospel and right reason. The moral vision of this teaching is founded on four core principles which should form our consciences. With this moral vision and these principles, we can then evaluate issues and make prudential judgments about policies and laws as well as prudential decisions on who to vote for in elections. As you know, the bishops sometimes make prudential judgments about various policies and laws as well, judgments that the faithful should seriously consider.
The four principles are: the common good, the dignity of the human person, subsidiarity, and solidarity. They are all intimately connected to each other.
If you’ve read FCFC, you will have noticed that the bishops highlight and explain what we identify as seven key themes of Catholic social teaching. In this talk, rather than focusing on these seven themes, I am focusing on the four principles of Catholic Social teaching. I prefer this way of presenting the issues, though it isn’t really different in the content.
First, the principle of the common good. This principle stems from the dignity, unity, and equality of all people. A succinct definition of the common good is found in Gaudium et spes #26 and is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily (CCC 1906). I also like the even more succinct definition from Pope Benedict XVI: the common good is “the totality of social conditions allowing persons to achieve their communal and individual fulfillment.”
So the common good concerns the life of everyone, the good of all people and of the whole person. We are created as social beings, always in interrelationship and interdependence with others, so individual rights need to be experienced within the context of promotion of the common good. The common good can be understood as the social and community dimension of the moral good (Compendium # 164).
The demands of the common good are strictly connected to respect for the integral promotion of the person and his or her fundamental rights. The common good presupposes the principle of respect for the life and dignity of the human person, the fundamental principle of Catholic Social teaching which I will speak about shortly. Public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person (CCC 1907). These rights include the right to life, the right to religious freedom, the right to access those things required for human decency, like food and shelter, education and employment, and health care. It includes the right to fulfill one’s vocation. The common good also demands the protection of the environment. The common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense (CCC 1909).
In the political realm, we must recognize that “it is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies” (CCC 1910). In fact, the common good is the reason that the political authority exists. We must also recognize that the common good is not just the good of Americans. There is a universal common good (CCC 1911).
We all have an obligation to participate in promoting the common good. Of course, we do so in our own lives of personal responsibility in our family and in our work. We also have a responsibility in politics. The aim of politics and the role of the state is to serve the common good. When we vote, we should ask ourselves which candidate we believe will best serve the common good. Each of us is obliged to promote the common good through our political participation. We have a moral obligation to be responsible citizens, to participate in political life, as a means of promoting the common good.
It is also important to mention that the common good is not simply socio-economic well-being, which would be a materialistic vision of reality and society. Our ultimate end is God. We have a transcendent goal, so the common good of society is not an end in itself. It has value in reference to attaining the ultimate ends of the person and the universal common good of the whole of creation” (PCJP 170). The common good should not be deprived of its transcendent dimension which is why the common good requires the protection of religious freedom.
The next fundamental and permanent principle of Catholic Social teaching is really the guiding principle of all of the Church’s social doctrine: the dignity of the human person. Human life is sacred because every person is created in the image and likeness of God. So every human life, from conception to natural death, deserves respect. Here is what the bishops say about this fundamental principle in FCFC #44-45:
Human life is sacred. The dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Direct attacks on innocent persons are never morally acceptable, at any stage or in any condition. In our society, human life is especially under direct attack from abortion. Other direct threats to the sanctity of human life include euthanasia, human cloning, and the destruction of human embryos for research.
Catholic teaching about the dignity of life calls us to oppose torture, unjust war, and the use of the death penalty; to prevent genocide and attacks against noncombatants; to oppose racism; and to overcome poverty and suffering. Nations are called to protect the right to life by seeking effective ways to combat evil and terror without resorting to armed conflicts except as a last reort, always seeking first to resolve disputes by peaceful means. We revere the lives of children in the womb, the lives of persons dying in war and from starvation, and indeed the lives of all human beings as children of God.
When you read the new Introduction to FCFC, you will see that we highlight several issues that we bishops consider especially important today, issues that demand our attention because they threaten human life and dignity. We highlight abortion and we say that “the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.” We also say that, “at the same time, we cannot dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty, and the death penalty.” We also devote a paragraph to the issue of immigration and deplore the inhuman treatment of those seeking refuge and asylum in our country. We mention also the issue of gun violence. All these issues have to do with human dignity. We also quote Pope Francis and his teaching that the call to holiness requires “a firm and passionate defense” of the innocent unborn, and his statement that “equally sacred” are the “lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.”
FCFC warns us against two temptations that can distort the Church’s defense of human life and dignity:
- Moral Equivalence: making “no ethical distinctions between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity.” The bishops state that “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.” It is intrinsically evil.
- The other temptation is dismissing or ignoring other serious threats to human life and dignity (saying all that matters, for example, is opposition to intrinsically evil acts). Dismissing or ignoring other important issues like racism, immigration, hunger, health care, etc. These are not optional concerns or issues that we can just dismiss or ignore. We are called to defend human life and dignity wherever it is threatened.
Our new Introduction to FCFC mentions various serious threats to human life and dignity, but we don’t fall into moral equivalence.
The third fundamental and permanent principle of Catholic Social teaching is the principle of subsidiarity. Pope Saint John Paul II gave a very good definition of subsidiarity in his encyclical Centesimus Annus #48: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good. Notice how these principles are all inter-related. Subsidiarity serves and is ordered to the common good. It is also connected to human dignity. It fosters human freedom. The state, for example, shouldn’t stifle initiatives of individuals and communities or the rights and responsibilities of parents and families. The family is the first and fundamental unit of society. It should be defended and strengthened, not undermined, by the state.
Basically, subsidiarity means that larger institutions in society should not overwhelm or interfere with smaller or local institutions (FCFC 48). Now this doesn’t mean that the state should never interfere. If a community or institution of a lower order doesn’t adequately protect human dignity, for example, the state should intervene.
I wish to mention here an important issue that I wish we would have highlighted in our Introduction to FCFC, the issue of educational choice. I think we need to do more to promote choice in education in laws and policies and also in considering candidates for political office. The Church teaches that parents “have a primary and inalienable duty and right in regard to the education of their children” and “should enjoy the fullest liberty in their choice of school” (Vatican II Declaration on Christian Education). Public authority has the duty “according to the principle of distributive justice, to ensure that public subsidies to schools are so allocated that parents are truly free to select schools for their children in accordance with their conscience” (ibid). Politically, we should be much stronger, in my opinion, in our efforts to repeal the unjust Blaine Amendments in 37 states, including Indiana, which violate the principle of subsidiarity, denying parents their fundamental rights. As you may know, the backdrop for the Blaine amendments was anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic bias. Today, the backdrop is secularism.
The state honors the principle of subsidiarity when it creates favorable conditions for the free exercise of economic activity which lead to opportunities for employment. The state can regulate the economic sector for the sake of the common good (e.g. environmental regulations), but it should not over-regulate and stifle business.
The fourth fundamental and permanent principle of Catholic Social teaching is solidarity. Solidarity is clearly an obligation of the Gospel of Jesus. It has to do with justice and charity. Not surprisingly, the labor movement in Poland under Communist oppression adopted the name Solidarnocz, Solidarity, because it was inspired by Catholic Social teaching and by Pope John Paul II’s teachings on solidarity. In his social encyclical Sollicitudo Rei socialis 38, John Paul wrote: Solidarity is not a vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so man people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.
Solidarity is a principle arising from the conviction that we are one human family, that we are indeed our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. It has to do with love of neighbor. We are called to live in solidarity with others in our community, in our nation, and in the world. We must be concerned about our fellow human beings and their welfare, especially the poor and the suffering. It includes concern not just for our fellow Americans, but for all people. It includes concern for the social conditions of all: the poor, refugees, immigrants, the sick, the oppressed, and the persecuted. Solidarity is a principle and a virtue. Only when there is solidarity is there true peace.
All these principles, as I have said, are closely inter-related. They overlap. Solidarity is obviously very connected to respect for human dignity. It’s also important for the common good. And it is often served by the principle of subsidiarity, and vice versa.
Finally, when we make political choices, our consciences need to be formed by these principles of Catholic Social teaching, the teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus. We must focus on promoting human life and dignity and pursuing the common good. We must consider the moral and ethical dimensions of public policy issues. And before voting, we must prudently and seriously consider whom we will vote for, studying their positions on the issues in light of our faith. Which candidate will best serve the common good? Which candidate will best defend human life and dignity and promote solidarity and subsidiarity?
We can get pretty depressed these days when, considering the full spectrum of Catholic teaching, we don’t find many candidates who share our convictions on important issues. Good Catholics with well-formed consciences have a hard time with the platforms of both major political parties. One professor wrote: “Catholic social teaching is contradicted both by the Democratic party’s liberalism on social issues and by the GOP’s libertarian economics” (David McPherson). I’ve found more Catholics concerned about the Republican party’s position on migration and refugees than on economics. There’s no question about the irreconcilability between Church teaching and the Democratic party platform on abortion and on marriage.
The American Solidarity Party, formed in 2011 and modeled on Christian democratic parties common in Europe, is a centrist party rooted in Catholic social teaching, but it hasn’t really gained traction. The party is little known. I don’t know why.
Many faithful Catholics I know say that they feel politically homeless today. But it’s still important to be involved and to vote. It’s certainly legitimate, according to FCFC, for a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving one’s vote based on a candidate’s position on an issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism (FCFC 420. But this doesn’t mean we are single-issue voters. We should not and cannot ignore or dismiss candidates’ positions on other important moral issues. Not all issues are equal, but all important issues should be considered in voting decisions. One should also consider the candidates’ integrity and character.
(Dilemmas in voting – see FCFC #34-37)