October 31, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
November 2nd marks a quadrennial, pivotal date in our nation - a date
when we again are given the opportunity of electing a president, a vice
president, and in Virginia, all of the members of the House of
Representatives. This is an opportunity that the 394,000
Catholics of our diocese cannot but take seriously, for we must
continue to build a "Culture of Life," as our Holy Father calls it - a
culture in which our nation's leaders will "contribute to the building
of a society in which the dignity of each person is recognized and
protected and the lives of all are defended and enhanced" (
cf The Gospel of Life, 90).
Since the last national election, our nation and world have witnessed
September 11th and its aftermath. Domestic issues such as the threat of
human cloning, the attempt to legalize same-sex marriage, and the ban
and subsequent challenging of the ban on partial birth abortion have
caused us to sharpen our focus on what is important for us as
Catholics. As we examine the positions of candidates on numerous
issues in the presidential and other election contests, we must allow
our conscience to be guided by fundamental principles.
As my brother bishops and I have stated in
Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility
for a New Millennium, the critical principles by which we should
judge those who run for elected office are the
protection of human life, the
promotion of family life, the
pursuit of social justice, and the
practice of global solidarity.
The foundation for these principles is the first, the
protection of human life, since
without it the other three would be rendered meaningless. If we
do not uphold and
protect human life in its
beginning at conception, there will be no life to uphold and protect
thereafter. As we read in
Living
the Gospel of Life, "We cannot simultaneously commit ourselves
to human rights and progress while eliminating or marginalizing the
weakest among us... We must begin with a commitment never to
intentionally kill, or collude in the killing, of any innocent human
life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled or desperate that life
may seem" (20,21).
To be a faithful Catholic necessarily means that one is pro-life and
not pro-choice. As my brother bishops and I said in our statement
"Catholics in Political Life" this past June, "Failing to protect the
lives of the innocent and defenseless members of the human race is to
sin against justice." To be pro-choice essentially means
supporting the right of a woman to terminate the life of her baby,
either pre-born or partially born. No Catholic can claim to be a
faithful member of the Church while advocating for, or actively
supporting, direct attacks on innocent human life. In reality,
protecting human life from
conception to natural death is more than a Catholic issue. It is
an issue of fundamental morality, rooted in both the natural law and
the divine law.
The Church's God-given responsibility is to propose the Truth, thereby
offering people the proper criterion for examining issues and making
informed decisions that are morally right and serve the common
good. "The Church must be committed to the task of educating and
supporting lay people involved in law-making, government and the
administration of justice, so that legislation will always reflect
those principles and moral values which are in conformity with a sound
anthropology and advance the common good"
(
The Church in America, 19,
Synod for America, 72). There
is no doubt that protecting all human life, promoting the family,
pursuing social justice and practicing global solidarity are in
conformity with a sound anthropology and do, indeed, advance the common
good.
Keeping in mind the four priorities that I have outlined, some have
wondered whether one may vote for a candidate whose stand on abortion
and other life issues is contrary to the teaching of the Church if one
believes that that candidate has a better position on other issues of
importance to Catholics and indeed to our nation (e.g., national
security, taxation, job growth, economic policy, etc.). Let me be
clear: to vote for a candidate precisely because of his or her
pro-abortion stance is an instance of formal cooperation in a grave
evil. Such formal cooperation is, according to the constant
teaching of the Church, never morally permissible.
In our common life together in society, it is sometimes not possible to
avoid entirely all cooperation with evil. This may be the case in
electing to office our state and national leaders. In certain
circumstances, it is morally permissible to vote for a candidate who
supports some immoral practices while opposing other immoral
practices. This is called material cooperation with evil.
In order for material cooperation to be morally permissible, however,
there must be a proportionate reason for such cooperation.
Proportionate reason does not mean that each issue carries the same
moral weight; intrinsically evil acts such as abortion or research on
stem cells taken from human embryos cannot be placed on the same level
as debates over war or capital punishment, for example. It is
simply not possible to serve and promote the common good of our nation
by voting for a candidate who, once in office, will do nothing to limit
or restrict the deliberate destruction of innocent human life.
If, however, a candidate supports abortion in a limited number of cases
but opposes it otherwise, a Catholic may vote for such a candidate over
another, more unsuitable candidate who is unwilling to place any
restrictions on abortion. In this case, the voter makes an effort
to limit the circumstances in which procured abortion would be deemed
legal. This is not a question of choosing a lesser evil, but
rather the Catholic, by his or her vote, expresses the intention to
limit all the evil that one is able to limit at the time. As
citizens and Catholics, we must be involved in the political process
and in the electing of our local, state and national leaders.
"The arena for moral responsibility includes not only the halls of
government but the voting booth as well" (
Living the Gospel of Life,
33). Once again, I urge you to weigh carefully the issues and the
candidates from the perspective of the four moral priorities I outlined
above, especially the priority to
protect
the life of all persons, pre-born and born.
In these days preceding the elections on November 2nd, please pray and
fast that the citizens of our nation will elect those leaders who will
renew our communities, our state and our society by enabling all
citizens to restore the culture of life.
One with you in prayer and in the exercise of our privileged right to
vote, I remain
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington