Once again I am wading into the storm
of politics with only my words to shield me. I know I keep claiming
caution in speaking, and yet here we are. I have been thinking a lot
about the presidential election, which is not surprising since we are
smack dab in the middle of 2 conventions.
We could argue tax policy or foreign
relations and the like. These are legitimate issues, but what good
does that do me, specifically as a Catholic? Democrats claim that we
have a responsibility to take care of the poor as Christ commanded,
thus expanding social services and raising taxes on the wealthiest
1%.
Republicans will say that the best way to serve the poor is to
create the economic conditions necessary for them to work and thrive,
which would involve tax cuts on job creators and shrinking
government. I can see two equally devout Catholics coming to either
conclusion based on their judgment of the evidence.
And you don't want to mix legitimate political differences with the certainty that comes with faith. When we do that we turn city halls into temples of bureaucracy and preacher pulpits into presidential podiums.
So what is a Catholic to do?
As a theologian, I find many of these
questions unhelpful, not because they are unimportant, but because
there is nothing for Catholics to rally behind. What are Catholics
fighting for this election? On what criteria should we base our
vote, especially for president?
I have decided that we should limit our
discussion to the 5 non-negotiables. These are the 5 areas
(according to groups like Catholic Answers) that in modern American
politics where all Catholics should stand with one voice and should
not waiver. Unlike so many other political issues, in these 5 areas we have a clear moral course and well delineated division so that we know what side of the line we are crossing. Our consciences should hold us and set our resolve to
stand on the side of the Church. The 5 non-negotiables are:
- Abortion
- Euthanasia
- Fetal Stem Cell Research
- Human Cloning
- “Gay Marriage”
In addition to this, I will add one
more that list, but I will do so at the end.
In the rest of this article, I will
make the argument against and for each presidential candidate in
light of these specific issues.
ABORTION
I will write an upcoming article about
why abortion is the central political problem that it is. Suffice to
say that the Catholic Church is the most visible and vocal
institution to stand in defense of all unborn life.
OBAMA:
photo by Pete Souza |
AGAINST-President Obama has a 100%
approval rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood. He supports all
types of abortion and voted against the Infants Born Alive Act, which
would make killing a baby who survived an abortion illegal. As a
candidate he supported the Freedom of Choice Act which would make
abortion a basic right, thus requiring all hospitals, including
Catholic ones, to perform abortions or lose their accreditation As
president he overturned the “Mexico City Policy” and allowed
federal tax dollars to be sent to foreign countries to fund
abortions.
FOR- He has not signed the Freedom of
Choice Act into law.
ROMNEY:
photo by Gage Skidmore |
AGAINST- He has been pro-choice in the
past. And he does not have a 100% pro-life philosophy. He supports
abortion in the cases of rape and incest. He fundraises with
pharmaceutical producers of Plan-B, which is meant as a contraceptive
but can act as an abortafacient.
FOR- He has promised to stop sending
federal money to Planned Parenthood. He has publicly stated his
commitment against Roe vs. Wade.
EUTHANASIA
While there are some life issues that have small exceptions, there
are no exceptions to the Church's prohibition on killing the sick.
There is never a case where this is morally acceptable.
OBAMA:
AGAINST- He did say that Oregon was serving the country by having
their assisted suicide law
FOR- He has not publicly supported a federal law allowing it.
ROMNEY
AGAINST- Regarding Terri Schiavo, he did not think that congress
should have gotten involved but that this should be a private matter
for the family.
FOR- He has not publicly supported a federal law allowing it.
EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH
The Church does not oppose stem cell research per se. What the
Church opposes is Embryonic Stem Cell Research for one very important
reason: harvesting stem cells for research from an embryo destroys
that embryo Hence we are killing human life in order to further
scientific inquiry
OBAMA:
AGAINST-One of his first executive orders was to remove federal
barriers to funding embryonic stem cell research
FOR-None
ROMNEY:
AGAINST- He does not oppose doing embryonic stem cell research on
embryos that are scheduled for destruction.
FOR- He opposes federal funds to be used for ESCR. As governor of
Massachusetts, he vetoed a bill that would allow state funding (this
is also where he claimed he moved from pro-choice to pro-life). He
opposes the creation of embryos for the purpose of medical research
HUMAN CLONING
Human life is not a disposable commodity. Every human being has the
right to be conceived in dignity, not to be owned like property for
research and commerce
OBAMA:
AGAINST-None
FOR- He has said that human cloning is dangerous and wrong
ROMNEY:
Against- None
FOR- He opposes the creation of human embryos through cloning
“GAY MARRIAGE”
The most fundamental unit of society is the family, which is built
upon the God-given design of a mother and a father. While there have
been many things that have weakened the stability of marriage like
the prevalence of divorce and cohabitating couples, recognizing “gay
marriage” would hasten the disintegration of the family.
OBAMA:
AGAINST- In recent months he has stated his support for “gay
marriage”
FOR- He does not support a federal re-definition
ROMNEY:
AGAINST- As Governor he issued licenses to same-sex couples (though
he was forced to by the state supreme court), and he backed a civil
union recognition bill.
FOR- He supports an amendment to the US Constitution defining
marriage to be between one man and one woman.
So there you have the score card on the non-negotiables. But there
is one more: Religious Freedom.
The Catholic Church must be free from persecution. We must be free
to follow Christ and His church. We cannot be compelled by Caesar to
render to him that which does not belong to him: our conscience. Any
law that would have the Catholic bow their knee to the state is an
unconscionable attack on the most basic right we have from our
God-given nature.
Any leader that mandates that a Catholic choose between the
allegiance to God OR country is giving us the same choice the
ancient martyrs had in Nero's bloody circus. And we know the choice
we should make.
We know the choice we MUST make.
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