Can Catholics vote for a candidate who supports an "intrinsically evil action?"
According to the Bishops, Yes.
Can Catholics be single issue voters?
According to the Bishops: No.
In Summary:
References - "Faithful Citizenship:"
34. "Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers or the poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate its essential meaning, or racist behavior, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil."
"At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity."
35. "There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position even on policies promoting an intrinsically evil act may reasonably decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil."
42. As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet if a candidate’s position on a single issue promotes an intrinsically evil act, such as legal abortion, redefining marriage in a way that denies its essential meaning, or racist behavior, a voter may legitimately disqualify a candidate from receiving support.
According to the Bishops, Yes.
- Catholics can vote for a candidate despite the fact that they support these positions “for other morally grave reasons,” when we “perceive the proper relationship among moral goods" (34-35). This means that Catholics can vote for a non-pro-life candidate if his/her stance on the other “moral goods” demand our attention because of “morally grave reasons.”
- Catholics cannot vote for a candidate because they support positions that allow intrinsic moral evils to be permitted.
- Catholics can vote for a candidate who supports certain intrinsically evil actions to “limit the damage” caused by the actions of opposing candidates (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 570).
- Remember: "The responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election" (7).
Can Catholics be single issue voters?
According to the Bishops: No.
- "A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support" (42).
- But, Catholics "may legitimately disqualify a candidate from receiving support... if a candidate’s position on a single issue promotes an intrinsically evil act" (42).
In Summary:
- A Catholic voter can "disqualify" a candidate based on "a single issue," but they cannot vote for a candidate based on "a single issue."
- Catholics can be single issue "disqualifiers," but not single issue voters.
- Remember: "The responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election" (7).
References - "Faithful Citizenship:"
34. "Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers or the poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate its essential meaning, or racist behavior, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil."
"At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity."
35. "There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position even on policies promoting an intrinsically evil act may reasonably decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil."
42. As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet if a candidate’s position on a single issue promotes an intrinsically evil act, such as legal abortion, redefining marriage in a way that denies its essential meaning, or racist behavior, a voter may legitimately disqualify a candidate from receiving support.