How a Catholic may vote

Is any party ruled out?

No party is named, but a vote is: “a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political programme or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals”. CSDC 570 Belonging to a party is “a personal decision, legitimate at least within the limits of those parties and positions that are not incompatible with Christian faith and values”. CSDC 574

Within those limits the choice is the voter’s. “It is not the Church’s task to set forth specific political solutions – and even less to propose a single solution as the acceptable one”; her part is “to provide a moral judgment on temporal matters when this is required by faith or the moral law”. Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life 3 Nor will any party satisfy the faith whole: “Christians cannot find one party that fully corresponds to the ethical demands arising from faith”, and their support “will never be ideological but always critical”. CSDC 573 Voting itself is a duty, alongside paying taxes and defending one’s country. CCC 2240

The 2002 note that says so also says that one issue is not the whole of it: “A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility towards the common good.” It names first the laws on abortion and euthanasia, where the moral principles “do not admit of exception, compromise or derogation”; then, “in the same way”, the human embryo, the family founded on marriage, parents’ freedom in education, the protection of minors, freedom from modern forms of slavery, religious freedom, an economy at the service of the person, and peace. Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life 4

Where a bad law cannot be stopped, a legislator “whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law”, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life 4 and that vote “cannot be interpreted as support of an unjust law”. CSDC 570 And “no one is permitted to identify the authority of the Church exclusively with his own opinion”. CSDC 574

2238

Those subject to authority should regard those in authority as representatives of God, who has made them stewards of his gifts: Cf. Rom 13:1-2. "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution.... Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God." 1 Pet 2:13, 16. Their loyal collaboration includes the right, and at times the duty, to voice their just criticisms of that which seems harmful to the dignity of persons and to the good of the community.

2239

It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. the love and service of one's country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community.

2240

Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country: Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Rom 13:7. [Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as foreigners.... They obey the established laws and their way of life surpasses the laws.... So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it. Ad Diognetum 5, 5 and 10; 6, 10: PG — Patrologia Graeca (Migne) and 1176. The Apostle exhorts us to offer prayers and thanksgiving for kings and all who exercise authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way." 1 Tim 2:2.

568

The lay faithful are called to identify steps that can be taken in concrete political situations in order to put into practice the principles and values proper to life in society. This calls for a method of discernment Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Study and Teaching of the Church's Social Doctrine in the Formation of Priests, 8, Vatican Polyglot Press, Rome 1988, pp. 13-14., at both the personal and community levels, structured around certain key elements: knowledge of the situations, analyzed with the help of the social sciences and other appropriate tools; systematic reflection on these realities in the light of the unchanging message of the Gospel and the Church's social teaching; identification of choices aimed at assuring that the situation will evolve positively. When reality is the subject of careful attention and proper interpretation, concrete and effective choices can be made. However, an absolute value must never be attributed to these choices because no problem can be solved once and for all. “Christian faith has never presumed to impose a rigid framework on social and political questions, conscious that the historical dimension requires men and women to live in imperfect situations, which are also susceptible to rapid change” Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (24 November 2002), 7: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 2002, pp. 15-16..

569

A characteristic context for the exercise of discernment can be found in the functioning of the democratic system, understood by many today in agnostic and relativistic terms that lead to the belief that truth is something determined by the majority and conditioned by political considerations Cf. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 46: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 83 (1991) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1991), 850-851.. In such circumstances, discernment is particularly demanding when it is exercised with regard to the objectivity and accuracy of information, scientific research and economic decisions that affect the life of the poorest people. It is likewise demanding when dealing with realities that involve fundamental and unavoidable moral duties, such as the sacredness of life, the indissolubility of marriage, the promotion of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman. In such situations certain fundamental criteria are useful: the distinction and, simultaneously, the connection between the legal order and the moral order; fidelity to one's own identity and, at the same time, the willingness to engage in dialogue with all people; the need, in the social judgment and activity of Christians, to refer to the observance of three inseparable values — natural values, with respect for the legitimate autonomy of temporal realities; moral values, promoting an awareness of the intrinsic ethical dimension of every social and political issue; supernatural values, in order to fulfil one's duty in the spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

570

When — concerning areas or realities that involve fundamental ethical duties — legislative or political choices contrary to Christian principles and values are proposed or made, the Magisterium teaches that “a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political programme or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals” Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (24 November 2002), 4: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 2002, p. 9.. In cases where it is not possible to avoid the implementation of such political programmes or to block or abrogate such laws, the Magisterium teaches that a parliamentary representative, whose personal absolute opposition to these programmes or laws is clear and known to all, may legitimately support proposals aimed at limiting the damage caused by such programmes or laws and at diminishing their negative effects on the level of culture and public morality. In this regard, a typical example of such a case would be a law permitting abortion Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 73: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 87 (1995) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1995), 486-487.. The representative's vote, in any case, cannot be interpreted as support of an unjust law but only as a contribution to reducing the negative consequences of a legislative provision, the responsibility for which lies entirely with those who have brought it into being. Faced with the many situations involving fundamental and indispensable moral duties, it must be remembered that Christian witness is to be considered a fundamental obligation that can even lead to the sacrificing of one's life, to martyrdom in the name of love and human dignity Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Exhortation, Christifideles Laici, 39: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 81 (1989) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1989), 466-468.. The history of the past twenty centuries, as well as that of the last century, is filled with martyrs for Christian truth, witnesses to the faith, hope and love founded on the Gospel. Martyrdom is the witness of one who has been personally conformed to Jesus crucified, expressed in the supreme form of shedding one's blood according to the teaching of the Gospel: if “a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies ... it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24).

573

A particular area for discernment on the part of the lay faithful concerns the choice of political instruments, that is, membership in a party or in other types of political participation. A choice must be made that is consistent with values, taking into account actual circumstances. In every case, whatever choice is made must be rooted in charity and tend towards the attainment of the common good Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 46: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 63 (1971) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1971), 433-435.. It is difficult for the concerns of the Christian faith to be adequately met in one sole political entity; to claim that one party or political coalition responds completely to the demands of faith or of Christian life would give rise to dangerous errors. Christians cannot find one party that fully corresponds to the ethical demands arising from faith and from membership in the Church. Their adherence to a political alliance will never be ideological but always critical; in this way the party and its political platform will be prompted to be ever more conscientious in attaining the true common good, including the spiritual end of the human person Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 46: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 63 (1971) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1971), 433-435..

574

The distinction that must be made on the one hand between the demands of faith and socio-political options, and on the other hand between the choices made by individual Christians and the Christian community as such, means that membership in a party or in a political alliance should be considered a personal decision, legitimate at least within the limits of those parties and positions that are not incompatible with Christian faith and values Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 50: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 63 (1971) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1971), 439-440.. However, the choice of a party, a political alliance, the persons to whom public life is to be entrusted, while involving the conscience of each person, can never be an exclusively individual choice. “It is up to the Christian community to analyze with objectivity the situation which is proper to their own country, to shed on it the light of the Gospel's inalterable words and to draw principles of reflection, norms of judgment and directives for action from the social teaching of the Church” Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 4: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 63 (1971) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1971), 403-404.. In any case, “no one is permitted to identify the authority of the Church exclusively with his own opinion” Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 43: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 58 (1966) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1966), 1063.; believers should rather “try to guide each other by sincere dialogue in a spirit of mutual charity and with anxious interest above all in the common good” Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 43: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 58 (1966) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1966), 1063..

Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life Nov 24, 2002

From the Catechism

From the Social Doctrine

From the Magisterium