Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Can a Catholic Vote for Obama?


Picture source here. Be sure to visit their site to see other prolife T-shirts, etc.

I found the following article at the Roman Catholic Blog

Catholics for Obama?

May I remind you the 5 non-negotiable issues a Catholic must consider when voting:

FIVE NON-NEGOTIABLES

These five current issues concern actions that are intrinsically evil and must never be promoted by the law. Intrinsically evil actions are those that fundamentally conflict with the moral law and can never be deliberately performed under any circumstances. It is a serious sin to deliberately endorse or promote any of these actions, and no candidate who really wants to advance the common good will support any action contrary to the non-negotiable principles involved in these issues.

1. Abortion

The Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is "never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it" (EV 73). Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.

The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of his life. Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child’s, who should not suffer death for others’ sins.

2. Euthanasia

Often disguised by the name "mercy killing," euthanasia is also a form of homicide. No person has a right to take his own life, and no one has the right to take the life of any innocent person.

In euthanasia, the ill or elderly are killed, by action or omission, out of a misplaced sense of compassion, but true compassion cannot include intentionally doing something intrinsically evil to another person (cf. EV 73).

3. Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Human embryos are human beings. "Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo" (CRF 4b).

Recent scientific advances show that often medical treatments that researchers hope to develop from experimentation on embryonic stem cells can be developed by using adult stem cells instead. Adult stem cells can be obtained without doing harm to the adults from whom they come. Thus there is no valid medical argument in favor of using embryonic stem cells. And even if there were benefits to be had from such experiments, they would not justify destroying innocent embryonic humans.

4. Human Cloning

"Attempts . . . for obtaining a human being without any connection with sexuality through ‘twin fission,’ cloning, or parthenogenesis are to be considered contrary to the moral law, since they are in opposition to the dignity both of human procreation and of the conjugal union" (RHL I:6).

Human cloning also involves abortion because the "rejected" or "unsuccessful" embryonic clones are destroyed, yet each clone is a human being.

5. Homosexual "Marriage"

True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other union as "marriage" undermines true marriage, and legal recognition of homosexual unions actually does homosexual persons a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.

"When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral" (UHP 10).


Above is from Catholic Answers' A Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank You for putting this on today. I am going to copy it and put copies in my Church.

EC Gefroh said...

Rose, here is CA's most recent voters' guide.
God bless,
http://www.caaction.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=72

Richard said...

Abortion and Euthanasia are the same - murder. However, they are only two specific instances of murder and to focus on only those two specific instances causes us to blind ourselves to the murders caused by war, exploitation and indifference.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning, again, are the same - lack of respect for the dignity of Humans. However, once again, to focus on only these two specific instances is to blind ourselves to degradation of human dignity caused by any form of injustice.

Homosexual Marriage is a red herring. The Church does not recognize any "marriage" other than certain religious marriages. A civil marriage, in the eyes of the Church, is no marriage at all (so getting hot and bothered about the government changing the definition of what is already a non-marriage seems silly to me). Personally, I would be happier if governments got out of the "marriage" business altogether and left it as a religious institution - because governments have no authority, nor jurisdiction, nor rights over religious matters. Let governments define an "economic union" or whatnot and just drop the label "marriage". Leave marriage for religions and not government.

Marie said...

I am just about to post my own thoughts on Obama's slogan about 'change'...What is he referring too? America has had so much change since the second world war that one's head can spin! Unfortunately NOT for the better!

I shudder when I read 'catholic for Obama'..Look at what he stands for???!!! Beggars belief!

Just goes to show what a nice smile and a wave can do..its called 'charisma' BUH! HUMBUG!

Excellent piece Esther:) I shall be praying much for your country:).

Peace and much love to you:)

Marie xoxooxo

Anonymous said...

Esther,
I'm so glad you posted this.
Thank You

Evann said...

Excellent post, Esther. I emailed the voter's guide to my two oldest girls, who are able to vote for the first time this year. They are disgusted, and righty so!

EC Gefroh said...

Richard, we must vote for politicians who will defend those who cannot defend themselves.

I look forward to reading your post Marie.

It is very scary what is happening to our country. I am glad young people like your daughters will be voting.

EC Gefroh said...

Thanks Ed.

Barbara said...

Thanks for linking to this article, Esther. It's a good one. I have a hard time with folks who don't see Obama for who (and what) he is.

EC Gefroh said...

Exactly Barb.

Katherine said...

All principles are non-negotiable. No Catholic can say there are only 5 non-negotiable principles.