Within Catholic social doctrine there are things that cannot be negotiated in relation to voting for politicians, and when there are choices that conflict with some aspect of the teaching, we are, I believe, called to choose that politician who best reflects those nonnegotiable aspects of the teaching, noted in the excerpt from this article from Zenit.
ZE08031307 - 2008-03-13
NON-NEGOTIABLES SHOULD BE VOTING CRITERIA, SAYS PRELATE
Italian Cardinal Warns Against Bad Political Choices
By Antonio Gaspari
ROME, MARCH 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Non-negotiable values, like the dignity of human life and the protection of marriage, should be the criteria for discernment in political arenas, says the president of the Italian bishops' conference.
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco affirmed these criteria during his inaugural address Monday at the meeting of the episcopal conference's permanent council meeting.
The cardinal challenged the notion that elections are not "a field that is relevant to the Church as such," saying that bishops have the task of contributing "to a peaceful climate, to less hasty considerations, and to the harmony between people."
The archbishop of Genoa confirmed the "the policy of the Church, clergy and Church organizations to not be involved in any way with the selection of political sides or parties."
At the same time, he cited Benedict XVI's speech at the bishops' conference in Verona in order to specify that "the risk of political and legislative choices that contradict the fundamental values and anthropological principles and ethical roots of the nature of human beings" should be countered with determination and clear intentions.
…Vatican II values
Cardinal Bagnasco affirmed that the defense of the person, the family, education and freedom of religion are all values that were very clear in the Second Vatican Council.
The prelate referred to "Gaudium et Spes" to recall that "the holy synod called attention to a number of, what we would today call, non-negotiable risks, inasmuch as they undermine what constitutes the good of the person" -- in other words, "everything that is apposed to life itself, such as every type of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, even voluntary suicide."
The cardinal continued: "Along this same line, the council spoke often of the fundamental and incomparable good of the family founded on the marriage between a man and a woman.
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.