Can a Catholic, With a Clear Conscience, Vote for the Democratic Ticket? The Republican Ticket?

Each of us has to struggle to heal the broken images we have of ourselves. Our world and even our own minds can afflict us with lies about who we are and about our being of little worth. From all corners we can hear hurtful messages that cause us to think that we have little impact on the lives of others and that we matter little.

It is so vital to our human dignity that we be able to share the truth, express who we are; the truth of every person’s createdness and loveliness, and that God takes delight in each of us, that God created each of us for eternal life with him.

So, the thing I have been struggling with how to express, the thing I have been working on saying without being combative and without being angry, is that there is one lie out there which is especially powerful in quieting and immobilizing Catholics. One lie that, when heaped upon all the other lies, can be devastating. That is this: that a Catholic cannot vote their conscience. In particular, the lie is that if a Catholic votes for the Democratic Ticket they are not real Catholics and that they will go to hell.

I don’t mean this to be political. I really don’t. It is, however, a political lie. This lie is just one more lie, on top of all the other lies, that distorts who we really are as human beings and as Catholics. This lie is scandalous and cruel. It is spoken with false authority and preys on the most fragile of us. Stop this lie. Do not spread it.

As baptized Catholics we will always be baptized Catholics. Nothing can change that. Our baptism has changed our identity and we are Children of God. Nothing can change that. I agree with St. Paul when he says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39) .

We have a createdness, a sacredness, a loveliness, a delightfulness and this lie tries to rip that away from us. It tries to silence us. It is meant to change our understanding of ourselves and of our relationship with God and to bully us into falling into line with a behavior that goes against our conscience.

Here is what is true and what is taught by the Catholic Church

It is not a sin to vote for a Democrat and it is not a sin to vote for a Republican.

Here is what is needed: Know Jesus and his Gospel; Understand the teachings of the Church; Understand the issues; Pray; Vote your conscience; Be at peace.

Some added thoughts

For Catholics, the voting process is an expression of the truth of who we are. Voting is never a process which nullifies one’s baptism, but rather it expresses its reality. For those who are baptized  and share in the work of Jesus’ office of Priest, Prophet and King, voting is a result of prayer and is aimed at making the world more holy (that is, priesthood), it is a speaking of truth (that is, prophesy) and it is exercising a leadership in our community (that is, king/queen).

For a Catholic, voting is an expression of their unity with God and their love of neighbor.

So, vote your conscience and resist the tormenters. Immerse yourself in the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus. And do you best to shut down this lie and protect others from these bullies.

You can stop reading here. I have written the most important part. If, however, you need further documentation and explanation for the Church’s teaching, you can read on.

Can a Catholic ever stop being Catholic?

I side with St. Paul when he writes, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

In addition, once a person is baptized they are always baptized. There is no way for a person to undo that baptism. Baptism confers a new character upon the person. This new character, as a Child of God, is now a permanent part of their identity. There is no way to formally leave the Catholic Church. When anybody refers to somebody else not being a “real Catholic” they are showing their ignorance and making a judgement about a person that they have no right to make.

“It remains clear, in any event, that the sacramental bond of belonging to the Body of Christ that is the Church, conferred by the baptismal character, is an ontological and permanent bond which is not lost by reason of any act or fact of defection.” (#7, Actus Formalis, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/intrptxt/documents/rc_pc_intrptxt_doc_20060313_actus-formalis_en.html)

Can a vote be a mortal sin?

Only in very particular cases. If a candidate supports an intrinsic evil, such as euthanasia, and a Catholic votes for that candidate primarily because of that support, then they too are formally cooperating with that evil. This vote is a sin and involves grave matter. That alone does not mean that this sin is a mortal sin.

It is impossible for anybody other than that person to judge if that person has committed a mortal sin. There are two additional conditions that must be met for this sin to be mortal. “For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." (#1857, Code of Canon Law, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm). The sections which follow go on to fully describe each of these conditions. For our purpose here it is enough to say that nobody can judge whether the sin of another is mortal. Such judgement can only be judged through a spiritual conversation with the person as they reflect on the knowledge and degree of freedom involved in the committing of the sin.

Priests should not be telling anybody, even their own parishioners, how to vote.

“Like Jesus (cf Jn 6:15 ff.), the priest "ought to refrain from actively engaging himself in politics, as it often happens, in order to be a central point of spiritual fraternity".(99) All the faithful, therefore, must always be able to approach the priest without feeling inhibited for any reason.” (From the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests #33, 1994, https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_31011994_directory_en.html)

The Directory goes on to say that political involvement is part of the vocation of the lay person. Instead, it is the priest’s role to help form their conscience.

Pope Francis wrote, “it is our role to form conscience, not replace it.”

On the Primacy of the Conscience

A good place to begin to learn more about the conscience is Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World  (http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html), a document of the Second Vatican Council. It begins with a stunningly beautiful section on the Dignity of the Human Person. And then in paragraph #16 it says, “For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God . . .”

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find, “Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1778)

“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.” (#34, USCCB’s pastoral letter, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/upload/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship.pdf)

“As Catholics, we are part of a community with a rich heritage that helps us consider the challenges in public life and contribute to greater justice and peace for all people. Part of that rich heritage on faithful citizenship is the teaching of Vatican Council II’s Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae). It says that ‘society itself may profit by the moral qualities of justice and peace which have their origin in [people’s] faithfulness to God and to His holy will’ (no. 6). The work for justice requires that the mind and the heart of Catholics be educated and formed to know and practice the whole faith. This statement highlights the role of the Church in the formation of conscience and the corresponding moral responsibility of each Catholic to hear, receive, and act upon the Church’s teaching in the lifelong task of forming his or her own conscience. Foremost amongst those teachings are the four basic principles of Catholic social doctrine: the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 160). With this foundation, Catholics are better able to evaluate policy positions, party platforms, and candidates’ promises and actions in light of the Gospel and the moral and social teaching of the Church in order to help build a better world. (#4, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship)

Is there a Catholic candidate?

Not in the sense of there being a candidate that all Catholics can agree upon or that the Catholic Church would endorse. No candidate will ever represent every teaching of the Church.

“Our (the Bishops of the United States) purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth. We recognize that 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, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship)

Can a Catholic vote for a candidate who is pro-abortion?

“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. 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.” (Introductory Letter, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship)

“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.” (#35, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship)

Archbishop Charles Chaput has noted that “pastors have an obligation to educate the faithful, since ‘the subjective conscience of the individual can never be set against objective moral truth, as if conscience and truth were two competing principles for moral decision-making.’" (In Amoris Laetitia, Francis' model of conscience empowers Catholics, National Catholic Reporter, Sep 7, 2016, https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/amoris-laetitia-francis-model-conscience-empowers-catholics)  

What might a “truly grave moral reason” be for voting for a candidate who supports abortion? Under what circumstances might a Catholic person use criteria and issues other than abortion in making their voting decision?

Let’s take the situation where Candidate A states publicly that they are pro-life and anti-abortion. Candidate B states publicly that they are pro-choice.

Under what conditions might a baptized Catholic vote for Candidate A? Under what conditions might a baptized Catholic vote for Candidate B?

Case 1

Suppose as a Catholic forms their conscience, they take the Candidates at their word and voting for Candidate A seems to be a given. As a Catholic forms their conscience, as they come to know Jesus and his Gospel, as they come to understand the teachings of the Catholic Church, and as they come to understand the issues, as they pray, it is easy to see why a Catholic might, in good conscience, vote for Candidate A.

Case 2

Suppose that another Catholic person agrees whole heartedly that abortion is the preeminent issue in the election. However, they see a pattern of behavior and policy in Candidate A which shows a consistent disrespect for human dignity and for human life. It is apparent to them that Candidate A is pro-life in word only. This could be a truly grave moral reason to not vote for either candidate based on the issue of abortion alone. It is easy to see that this person’s conscience will need to rely on additional criteria as they decide for whom to vote.

Case 3

Suppose that a third Catholic person looks at these same candidates and issues and also agrees that abortion is the preeminent issue in this election. Suppose, however, that this person’s understanding of the issues leads them to the conclusion that making abortion illegal is not likely to happen no matter who is elected. They have found that the approach that will actually bear the most good and prevent the most abortions is through things like available health care for expectant mothers and their children, increased childcare availability, and increased minimum wages. It is easy to see why these issues then become the criteria used as this person votes their conscience.