EWTN and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Voter Guide

Last updated on: September 26, 2016 at 4:50 pm by Matthew Tyson

EWTN and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Voter Guide 2016-09-26T16:50:16-05:00 Matthew Tyson

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For those that might be unaware, EWTN’s infamous Voter Guide (circa 2002) is making the rounds on social media again (if you haven’t read it, you can here). This 14 point, FAQ-styled webpage focuses most of its attention on pro-abortion candidates and why voting for them is a mortal sin (not entirely true, btw). It paints in really broad strokes and is more confusing and misleading than it is helpful. Let’s take a look.

First, there’s this gem:

3. If I think that a pro-abortion candidate will, on balance, do much more for the culture of life than a pro-life candidate, why may I not vote for the pro-abortion candidate?

If a political candidate supported abortion, or any other moral evil, such as assisted suicide and euthanasia, for that matter, it would not be morally permissible for you to vote for that person. This is because, in voting for such a person, you would become an accomplice in the moral evil at issue. For this reason, moral evils such as abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide are examples of a “disqualifying issue.” A disqualifying issue is one which is of such gravity and importance that it allows for no political maneuvering.

And then in total contradiction goes on to say…

8. What if none of the candidates are completely pro-life?

As Pope John Paul II explains in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), “…when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects.” Logically, it follows from these words of the Pope that a voter may likewise vote for that candidate who will most likely limit the evils of abortion or any other moral evil at issue.

And then there’s this bit of fear inducing wrongness:

14. Is it a mortal sin to vote for a pro-abortion candidate?

Except in the case in which a voter is faced with all pro-abortion candidates (in which case, as explained in question 8 above, he or she strives to determine which of them would cause the let (sic) damage in this regard), a candidate that is pro-abortion disqualifies himself from receiving a Catholic’s vote. This is because being pro-abortion cannot simply be placed alongside the candidate’s other positions on Medicare and unemployment, for example; and this is because abortion is intrinsically evil and cannot be morally justified for any reason or set of circumstances. To vote for such a candidate even with the knowledge that the candidate is pro-abortion is to become an accomplice in the moral evil of abortion. If the voter also knows this, then the voter sins mortally.

So, there are a few things to note here.

First of, it IS true that Catholics cannot support abortion, privately or publicly. The Church is pretty clear on this issue. So, as a Catholic, it is entirely contradictory to the faith to vote for a candidate BECAUSE they are pro-choice/abortion.

But. As Pope Benedict stated in a 2004 letter, it is not always wrong to vote for a pro-choice candidate if you are doing so for other reasons besides the candidate’s position on abortion:

“A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate’s permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.”

Furthermore, this sentiment is echoed in the USCCB’s document 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.

So when EWTN says that voting for a pro-choice candidate is a mortal sin no matter what, they’re wrong—as is anyone else who tries to tell you how you *must* vote as a Catholic.

Politics simply isn’t black and white. It’s a very complex situation with multiple, intersecting moral issues that require careful discernment. Abortion is a serious matter, and we can’t just shrug it off. But it’s not the *only* issue when it comes to voting. That’s why the Church doesn’t tell us who to vote for, and instead offers guidance on how to vote. We have to weigh the issues against the whole of Catholic teaching, consider the consequences and outcomes, and vote according to a well formed conscience.

We can look to the current presidential race for a perfect example. Since Hillary Clinton supports abortion, a Catholic needs a damn good moral reason to vote for her. Simply doing so because she would be the first woman president doesn’t count (see narrow interests/partisan preference). However, if—after careful consideration and discernment—a Catholic decided to vote for Clinton because they felt her platform would do more to help the poor, protect immigrants and refugees, and create a better economic and social situation for millions of Americans (which would likely decrease abortions, btw), then they could do so in good conscience. (For more on this, you can check out my blog on why I choose to vote Democrat).

Voting as a Catholic certainly isn’t easy. But documents like this “voter guide” don’t make it any easier and create more confusion than provide actual solutions. My advice for anyone struggling to make a decision would be to ignore EWTN and just stick to prayer.

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