Florida Catholic | What’s a Catholic voter to do?

What’s a Catholic voter to do?

JACQUELYN HORKAN | FLORIDA CATHOLIC STAFF

Published: 01.18.08

TALLAHASSEE | Jan. 29’s Presidential Preference Primary ballot will list nine Republicans and eight Democrats. Some will oppose abortion while supporting the death penalty. Others will take the opposite stance. Some will want to “get tough” on immigration while others will prefer to ignore the issue.

No one will be the perfect candidate, defining his positions based on centuries of moral teaching. So what is a Catholic voter to do?

Riding to the rescue are the nation’s bishops and the Florida Catholic Conference. Although they won’t tell you for whom to vote, they will help you decide.

The conference is publishing a series of e-mails based on the U.S. bishops’ updated statement, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” The three e-mails explain to Catholics why they should form their consciences, how to do so and how to apply a well-formed conscience in the voting booth and the public square.

To join the mailing list for
e-mails, as well as action alerts on key issues, sign up for the Florida Catholic Conference Advocacy Network by visiting
www.flacathconf.org
or sending an e-mail to
fccadvocacy@flacathconf.org.

The gist of the task, according to the first e-mail: “As Catholics we bring both faith and reason with us to the polls. Our conscience, given by God, is that by which we determine what is right from wrong.”

Metaphorically speaking, one might think of voting as the paperwork of democracy, the hard work comes before making one’s mark on Election Day.

Mike McCarron, the conference’s executive director, knows deciding is no easy task, especially when issues such as abortion and the death penalty are added to the mix.

“As Catholics, we have an obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts and clearly it would be wrong to vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil such as abortion, if the intent of the voter is to support that position,” said McCarron.

Simply put, a voter often has to choose between the lesser of two evils. McCarron said the totality of a candidate’s stands on issues relating to human life and dignity must be taken into account, along with the candidate’s character, integrity and ability to influence a given issue.

The latter point is an important one for voters to remember, according to Sean D. Foreman, assistant professor for political science at Barry University.

“As voters, we tend to believe that presidents can attain what they say they will do in their platforms,” said Foreman. “But when they’re elected, they have to operate within the system and they are limited in what they can do by the Constitution, which grants more power to Congress.”

One piece of advice Foreman has for voters: lower your expectations. He said voters should pick two or three issues that are most important to them and then find the candidate who matches those.

“The problem is that most people are not going to find a perfect match,” warned Foreman. “Just like politics in general, you have to settle for a suboptimum outcome, the one that’s going to do the least damage. People need to prioritize.”

The idea of settling for less — along with what Foreman calls scandals, lies and mismanagement — has created a culture of cynicism about politics that drives many away from their polling places. Foreman noted that bad behavior among politicians is nothing new.

“Even (George) Washington was secretive in his dealings with Congress,” he said. “He set the precedent for executive privilege, the right of the president to withhold information from Congress.”

In the “Federalist Papers,” the quintessential study of the U.S. political system, James Madison noted that government is a reflection of human nature, in all its failings and frailties, which makes the formation of conscience an ever greater duty for Catholic voters, according to McCarron.

“Democracy needs participation of its citizenry to be successful,” he said. “Our political environment makes it even important that conscientious voters not retreat.”

What’s a Catholic voter to do?

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