Author Topic: Catholic Voting Guide (Read 22792 times)

MaterDominici · « **Reply #20 on:** February 05, 2016, 08:37:04 PM »

Quote from: Ladislaus

Let us imagine a presidential election in which one candidate favors abortion but only in the first trimester while the other candidate wants no limits up to and including partial birth abortion. So can you vote for the first-trimester abortion proponent as a "lesser evil"?

I'm teeter-tottering on the edge of quite confused. : )

No real Catholic would say they're voting for him because "he's for 1st trimester abortion" (an evil) but rather, "because he's against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion" (a good). Presuming no one else is against abortion at all, wouldn't it be permissible to vote for the only candidate who is against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion?

B from A · « **Reply #21 on:** February 05, 2016, 08:53:50 PM »

Quote from: MaterDominici

Quote from: Ladislaus

Let us imagine a presidential election in which one candidate favors abortion but only in the first trimester while the other candidate wants no limits up to and including partial birth abortion. So can you vote for the first-trimester abortion proponent as a "lesser evil"?

I'm teeter-tottering on the edge of quite confused. : )

No real Catholic would say they're voting for him because "he's for 1st trimester abortion" (an evil) but rather, "because he's against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion" (a good). Presuming no one else is against abortion at all, wouldn't it be permissible to vote for the only candidate who is against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion?

No.

I'll let Ladislaus or others comment more on the principles, but I'll just say, imagine if the only 2 candidates were Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung, would you vote for Stalin since he'll kill fewer people? Hopefully that example helps illustrate it.

B from A · « **Reply #22 on:** February 05, 2016, 09:00:28 PM »

"It is a moral evil to support a candidate whose platform runs contrary to the natural law. "

B from A · « **Reply #23 on:** February 05, 2016, 09:09:23 PM »

Quote from: McCork

Quote from: Ladislaus
It is neither "prudent" nor "permissible" to vote for a lesser evil. Sorry. That's false ends-justifies-the-means moral reasoning. It is NOT Catholic.

The principle is that if one ONLY has two choices of evil, he must choose the lesser evil. But "voting" really isn't that....because you can choose NOT TO VOTE, or to vote for a WRITE IN CANDIDATE....at least in the U.S.

Just so I understand what you're saying:

People are arguing that there are only 2 choices:

1. vote for evil candidate X
2. vote for evil candidate Y, who is supposedly slightly less evil than candidate X (because it's only way to keep out supposedly even worse candidate X)

Whereas you are saying that is incorrect, in that we have more choices,

1. vote for evil candidate X
2. vote for evil candidate Y, who is supposedly slightly less evil than candidate X
3. don't vote at all because both X & Y are evil (and our voting system is a complete fraud anyway)
4. write someone else in

i.e. It's not like someone is putting a gun to our head, saying "you must vote for evil candidate X or Y."

Is that what you're saying above?

MaterDominici · « **Reply #24 on:** February 05, 2016, 10:14:49 PM »

Quote from: B from A

Quote from: MaterDominici
Quote from: Ladislaus

Let us imagine a presidential election in which one candidate favors abortion but only in the first trimester while the other candidate wants no limits up to and including partial birth abortion. So can you vote for the first-trimester abortion proponent as a "lesser evil"?

I'm teeter-tottering on the edge of quite confused. : )

No real Catholic would say they're voting for him because "he's for 1st trimester abortion" (an evil) but rather, "because he's against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion" (a good). Presuming no one else is against abortion at all, wouldn't it be permissible to vote for the only candidate who is against 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion?

No.

I'll let Ladislaus or others comment more on the principles, but I'll just say, imagine if the only 2 candidates were Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung, would you vote for Stalin since he'll kill fewer people? Hopefully that example helps illustrate it.

OK, I was thinking how some chip away at abortion rather than attempt to take on the entire immoral practice, but even those sort would never say they are "for" 1st trimester abortion.

So does it follow that anyone who says they're "against abortion except in cases of A, B, C" would likewise be not an option for a Catholic?