A
Canadian Catholic Voter's Catechism
Does it matter
whether I vote?
Yes. We have a moral obligation to vote. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church says that it is “...morally obligatory
to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s
country.”(1)
Why is voting
obligatory?
“It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with
the civil authorities to the good of society....”(2)
As the Second Vatican Council taught, “every citizen ought to be mindful
of his duty to promote the common good by using his vote.”(3)
We are not obliged to vote for the sake of voting but to vote in
a way that we think will make our country better for all Canadians.
Does the Church
give us specific guidance on how to vote?
Yes. While “the Church... is not identified with any
political community nor bound by ties to any political system” and does
not endorse a particular party,(4) the Church does
“pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the
fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it.(5)
What about
separation of Church and state? Is it right for us to vote according to
our religious beliefs?"
The Second Vatican Council teaches that as
Christian “citizens among citizens ... everywhere and always (we) have
to seek the justice of the kingdom of God.”(6) We
must seek that justice when we vote.
Our activities in the Church and in the state
are distinct, but we remain the same Christian people whatever we
do. We belong both to Christ and to Canada, and we must not separate
ourselves from either when we vote.
What moral
judgements has the Church made that affect my vote in Canada today?
The Church has many teachings about social justice,
solidarity with our fellow citizens, the common good and human rights.
We must take all of these into account, but two basic issues stand out
in Canada today: the right to life and the status of marriage and
family.
Why is the right
to life the most important issue in deciding my vote?
The most basic of all our rights is the right to
life, the right from which all other rights flow. Without life, no other
right can be enjoyed. Any threat to the right to life, then, is a threat
to all our rights.
Any threat to the right to life not only puts human beings at risk of
being killed, but also “is a threat capable, in the end, of jeopardizing
the very meaning of democratic co-existence,”(7)
Pope John Paul II warns in Gospel of Life.
This is because “the inalienable right to life
of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a
civil society and its legislation.... The moment ... (the) law
deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil
legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality
of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at
the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular the
more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are
undermined....”(8)
What life issues are important in this election?
Abortion - Canada has no legal protection for
unborn human beings. While some MPs do support limitations on
abortion, not all do. Check to see which candidates are committed to
the right to life of the unborn and to reducing the number of
abortions in Canada.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide - Euthanasia
(killing someone who is suffering) and assisted suicide (helping
them kill themselves) is still illegal in Canada, protecting the
rights of the elderly, disable and mentally ill. But some
politicians want to legalize one or both of these. Check to see
which candidates will uphold the right to life of all vulnerable
persons and who will work to ensure that all Canadians have access
to good medical treatment and pain care when we face serious
illness.
Embryonic stem cell research - Embryonic human
beings are killed to obtain a special kind of human body cell, the
stem cell. Parliament recently passed a law to regulate this
killing, that is, allowing it in some circumstances. Check to see
which candidates recognize the right to life of human beings at all
stages of life and will work to see this right recognized in all our
laws.
Why are marriage
and family policies also very important?
Pope John Paul II wrote that, “a family policy must
be the basis and driving force of all social policies.”(9)
This is simply because the family is “the original cell of social life.”(10)
Therefore, “The importance of the family for the life and well-being of
society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and
strengthen marriage and the family. Civil authority should consider it a
grave duty `to acknowledge the true nature of the family, to protect and
foster them, to safeguard public morality and domestic prosperity.’“(11)
What marriage and family issues are important in
this election?
Definition of Marriage - Recently Parliament
voted to alter the marriage law so that the law no longer recognizes
the unique status of married persons and their families. This
undermines marriage and family in society, because the government
and other social institutions ought to recognize and support the
unique status and social role of marriage and family but now cannot.
Check to see which politicians support recognizing the true
definition of marriage and the family in Canadian law.
Assistance to Families - Each party has a plan
to assist families, through tax breaks, daycare subsidies, and other
means. Not all of these plans will be helpful to families, and some
will make family life more difficult. Check to see which candidates
believe that parents have the primary responsibility to care for
their children, and which candidates will work to ensure that the
government’s family policy truly will assist parents and not hinder
them.
There are other important life, marriage and
family issues to consider. These are only some highlights. More
information can be found on these issues and on party positions on
these issues at www.rcav.org/OLF,
the Office of Life and Family website.
So what do I look
for in a candidate and party?
First, we must vote for candidates and parties
that uphold the right to life for all Canadians and for all human beings
everywhere.
Second, we must vote for candidates and
parties who recognize that a family is “a man and a woman united in
marriage, together with their children,”(12)
who will enact policies that recognize that children are the
responsibility and duty first and foremost of their parents and not
of the state, and who will enact policies that assist and do not
hamper parents in raising their children.
What if I cannot
find a suitable candidate?
While it is always wrong to ‘do evil that good may
come of it’ (Cf. Rom 3:8) - and therefore wrong to support a candidate
who fails to uphold the right to life and the good of marriage and the
family - it is not wrong to limit evil that good may come of it. That
is, we cannot do something wrong just because it may lead to a good
outcome, but we can work to limit something wrong being done in order to
lead to a good outcome.
Thus, if no candidate upholds the right to
life and the rights of the family, we can still exercise our
responsibility to vote. We can vote for the candidate who is the
least hostile to the right to life and to the family - and limit the
harm that worse candidates might do.
In the words of one theologian, “At times, the
voter can do no better than make a choice of the lesser of two or
more evils.... He must choose the group or individual who,
everything considered, is the most favourable to faith and morals or
is the least hostile.”(13)
To quote another theologian, “It is sinful to
vote for the enemies of religion or liberty, except to exclude a
worse candidate....”(14)
When no truly good option is given to voters,
we are then forced to use our vote to ensure the least objectionable
outcome.
Besides casting a
pro-life vote, what else can I do?
Apart from always voting for a greater recognition
and protection of the right to life and other human rights, we must also
constantly strive to use other means to build a culture of life.
As Christians we are called to evangelize our culture by bringing
Christian values into the market place, into every phase of our life in
society.
One important way of doing this is by voicing
our views publicly and by getting involved in the political process,
influencing the nominations of candidates and the setting of party
policy, and supporting candidates who stand for the Gospel of Life
in all its aspects.
Footnotes:
1. CCC # 2240
2. CCC # 2239
3. GS #75
4. GS #76
5. CCC #2246
6. AA #7
7. EV #18
8. CCC #2273
9. EV #90
10. CCC #2207
11. CCC #2210
12. CCC #2202
13. Bernard Haering, CSsR, The Law of Christ, Vol. II, pp.513-514
14. Davis, Moral and Pastoral Theology, vol.2., p.90
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