Obama, FOCA, and the Catholic Health Care System 1

Last updated on: December 10, 2008 at 12:30 am by Scot McKnight

Obama, FOCA, and the Catholic Health Care System 1 2008-12-10T00:30:11-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This series concerns Barack Obama, the Freedom of Choice Act, and what FOCA might mean for health care in the USA. The series is by Mary Veeneman, professor of theology and a Christian ethicist at North Park University. The issues that could flow out of FOCA — which Obama has said he will support — are so morally enormous we need to be vigilant in being strong advocates for the unborn and for the moral consciences of hospitals. There are some who think passing FOCA could dismantle the Catholic hospitals because the Catholic hospitals will not cooperate in abortions. Most Evangelicals and Catholics are joined at the hip on opposition to abortion and to FOCA. Please read up on this one and work against FOCA. Mary Veeneman provides a context here: there are at least two ways Catholics are responding to Obama and FOCA.

Mary Veeneman: Here’s the first way some have responded. Shortly after the election, Fr. Jay Scott Newman made headlines by

instructing his parishioners not to receive communion without first
going to confession if they had voted for Barack Obama. His
explanation for this direction was that in voting for Obama individuals
had given material cooperation with intrinsic evil and that was
sufficient to make those concerned unable to take communion.

Fr. Newman’s directive certainly created a stir among Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It also reveals a failure (on Fr Newman’s part) to engage fully with Catholic teaching on this issue.

Here’s a second way Catholics are responding: Let’s call it a prudent conscience. In 2007, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a document titled, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship in anticipation of the 2008 election. In this document, the bishops make clear that the voter is not to make decisions based on one issue alone. They write,

“The Church equips its members to address political and social questions by helping them to develop a well-formed conscience. Catholics have a serious and lifelong obligation to form their consciences in accord with human reason and the teaching of the Church. Conscience is not something that allows us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere “feeling” about what we should or should not do. Rather, conscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil. Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith” (17).

The document further teaches that Catholics must not take a route to a good end if it involves immoral actions along the way.

With a well-formed conscience and prudence, then, Catholics are called to make “practical judgments regarding good and evil choices in the political arena” (21). Perhaps the most important point made by the bishops in the document is that the right to life is tied to other human rights. All issues surrounding life are tied to one another because a failure to cherish the life of any person or group will ultimately result in a lessened respect for all life.

The bishops are clear that the destruction of human life at any stage of life (from conception to death) is wrong and must always be opposed by Catholics. What they do not state is any one particular way in which Catholics must participate as a citizen. Fr. Newman’s argument about those who voted for Obama is that they materially cooperated with evil in the act of voting for an individual who supports abortion rights. What Faithful Citizenship shows is that there is a great deal of complexity in making political decisions. The definition of material cooperation with evil also shows this. Material cooperation with evil is an act on the part of one person in which he or she cooperates with another person who is involved in wrongdoing. The key here is that the cooperator’s ultimate intention is not the same as the one involved in wrongdoing. Cooperating may mean working for an individual who is committing some kind of moral wrongdoing without directly participating in the particular acts of wrongdoing.

Many people opposed to abortion voted for Obama because they liked a number of his policies and saw a potential in his language of abortion reduction. At the same time, in the days following the election, there was a sound of alarm coming from many of the members of the USCCB. This sound of alarm is not about Catholics who voted for Obama, but what Obama’s election and passing FOCA could mean for the Catholic health care system.

What do you think? Do you agree with the USCCB’s discussion of the formation of conscience and the need to make practical judgments?

Public Issues

Previous Post

December 10, 2008

A Sad Day in Illinois

Next Post

December 11, 2008 Acts of Advent 9

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Hebrew word 'El Shaddai' mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God Holy One The Lord is my Shepherd Everlasting Father