My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.
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Roman
Catholic Public Election Guide
(Intended
for use in Canada for federal and provincial elections)
Is voting for a pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia party a
mortal sin?
It is clear that
to talk or write about abortion or euthanasia must be done with great
sensitivity, because the action of ending a pregnancy or ending a human life
are very serious and poignant issues that have profound impacts on those
struggling with them. When people face an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy or
face a pregnancy that is wanted but comes at an inopportune time; there can be great
anxiety felt by those directly concerned. All too often, the pregnant woman may
find herself alone and without any support, and fear alone may pressure her to
end her pregnancy, or the pressure to do so may be put on her by others around
her and at times even from health and social service agents. The same kind of
pressure may be felt by those who suffer from disability, chronic or prolonged
pain and feel like a burden.
These are
culture of life issues, and there are many others, not the least of which are
newly developing trends around human gender. These are perhaps the most
important issues in our federal election because they have direct bearing on life
itself for every citizen. Catholics and other people who treasure the sanctity
of life are the only people who can publicly manifest this importance. The
election is a prime opportunity to do this.
As you may
or may not know, the Diocese has posted on its website "Let'sVote Responsibly" – a message from the AEQ for the 2018
provincial election which in many ways makes points applicable in this federal
and indeed any federal or provincial election. A link to the CCCB's
Federal Election Guide will lead you to further links to
several statements by the CCCB on various moral and ethical issues facing
Canadians, most notably abortion, euthanasia, and the right to life and
dignity. Ours are very challenging times, but we have a new opportunity every
day to put our trust in God and to give witness to the truth which is always
good news. The CCCB
Election Guide makes this important point:
"Exercising the right
to vote means making informed and discerning judgments about the options
available. There are times, however, when making a decision about who to vote
for may prove very difficult. The Church reminds us that “in this context, it
must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one
to vote for a political program or an individual law in which the fundamental
content of faith and morals is replaced by the introduction of proposals
differing from this content or opposing it.”
The implication
is that a Catholic could not vote for parties that have explicit pro-choice and
pro-euthanasia policies in their platform. This does not mean that a
person needs to only vote for parties that do not endorse abortion or
euthanasia. While these may not wish to bring these issues up or allow caucus
members to bring them to the Commons, they may at least allow MPs or candidates
to hold pro-life views and vote accordingly. The Campaign Life Coalition (CLC)
advice is that a Catholic (or other person who shares culture of life values)
would check to see what candidate in their riding has pro-life views and vote
for that person.
A key point
here is that abortion and euthanasia are not morally equivalent to any other
election issue, e.g. foreign policy, economy, etc... The right to life is the
first human right from which proceed all other rights... While our society and
culture may comfortably hold views that fail to consider the unborn as human
beings; from the earliest days Christians have always held abortion in
abhorrence, according the unborn respect for their human dignity. The basic
human right is the right to life;
then come liberty and well being.
Once life is assured, the next right
is liberty. Once life and
liberty are assured, the next right is to seek and assure well being or happiness.
One person’s right to liberty cannot trump another person’s right to life; nor
can one person’s right to well being trump another person’s right to liberty,
and certainly not their right to life. Our culture has acquired an intense
repugnance for pain and suffering, to the point that freedom from pain and
suffering has come to be considered by some to be more important than the value
of life itself. This is so in spite of the abundance of evidence that for human
beings, meaning and purpose are not contained in what happens to us; rather, human beings have
a capacity to give meaning
and purpose to what happens
to us.
Christians have
always held that life and death belong to God. Human beings are not wise enough
to determine when a life should end. Taking it upon oneself to put an end to
one’s life or to the life of another is unwise and usurps the rights and authority
of our Creator God. He made us and our lives belong to Him. Our reluctance to
trust in God is the primary cause of much human suffering and many destructive
human decisions and behaviors. It is an act of love to provide the dying with palliative
care, to help pregnant women, and to take interest and accompany on their journey
any who suffer.
There are 100,000
abortions a year in Canada. The
Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), co-sponsored by the CCCB and Knights
of Columbus Supreme Council, noted “Canada, with China, North Korea, and
Vietnam are the only countries which have no restriction in law with regard to
abortion.” Most of the
major parties support abortion over the full term of the pregnancy until birth.
President Trump stopped U.S. international funding to abortion organizations but
the Liberal government now funds Planned
Parenthood and other organizations to perform abortions around the world.
Canon Law does not define what is or is not a mortal sin, distinct from
the discipline of theology, and defers to her in matters of moral theology. Canon
Law is inspired by the Church’s theology, forbidding abortion from the earliest
days, and its statutes clearly reflect this. In law we speak of delicts (a.k.a.
as crimes), and these are very precisely defined. Note that a delict MUST
be clearly and explicitly defined as such in canon law. With regard to those
who directly procure an abortion, the law imposes several restrictions
or imposes penalties:
Canon 1041: irregularities impeded ordination – actually procuring an abortion
makes a person irregular for the reception of orders
Canon 1398: latae sententiae ex-communication of anyone who effectively
procures an abortion, “the killing of the foetus, in whatever way or at
whatever time from the moment of conception”.
On a more local level, a bishop does have the authority to decree
statutes and laws that apply to his diocese, and may impose penalties in this
manner. With regard to abortion, the legal landscape varies from place to
place. The document “Forming consciences for faithful citizenship” was issued
by the USCCB as a guide for Catholics in the US which states: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/upload/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship.pdf
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.
In the U.S.A.
during the 2004 presidential campaign Cardinal
Ratzinger stated that voters would be "cooperating in evil" if
they voted for a political candidate precisely because of their permissive
stand on legalized abortion or
euthanasia. He further stated that voting
for these candidates for other reasons of commensurate gravity in spite of
their stand on abortion / euthanasia was justifiable in principle. Ratzinger… supported
the denial of Holy Communion to
these politicians… but bishops should only withhold communion after meeting with, teaching and warning
politicians first.
So, to answer your question – voting for a pro-choice or pro-euthanasia candidate
may be considered a mortal sin if the intent of your vote is to
specifically advance the cause of abortion or euthanasia. If not, then it
will not be considered a mortal sin. Voting for a candidate who supports the value
of human life from conception to natural death is a just way to promote public consciousness
of the inherent value of human life and also honours the rights of our Creator God.
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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.
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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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