A number of bishops have released excellent voter guides and letters on the upcoming election. I particularly recommend Moral Principles for Catholic Voters coming out of Kansas and the pastoral letter of the two Kansas bishops, Most Rev. Joseph Naumann and Most Rev. Robert Finn.
It is clear from Moral Principles that the life issues are paramount and that, for example, a pro-abortion candidate is disqualified from consideration. In the upcoming election Barack Obama is rabidly pro-abortion. His support for partial birth infanticide and his four votes against the Born Alive Protection Act which demands treatment of babies born alive after failed abortions show just how extreme he is.
Obama also promised Planned Parenthood to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) which will undo every protection for unborn babies put in place over the last 35 years including parental notification and consent laws and the ban on partial birth infanticide where the baby is partially delivered, stabbed in the neck, and has his brains sucked out. The bill invalidates all state laws against taxpayer funding of abortion as well. FOCA goes far beyond Roe v. Wade to eliminate the right of the states to put any limits on abortion or even require abortuaries to follow good medical practices to protect women's health. No Catholic can vote for Obama without cooperating with evil, a grave sin.
The bishops say it well:
"Could a Catholic in good conscience vote for a candidate who supports legalized abortion when there is a choice of another candidate who does not support abortion or any other intrinsically evil policy? Could a voter’s preference for the candidate’s positions on the pursuit of peace, economic policies benefiting the poor, support for universal health care, a more just immigration policy, etc. overcome a candidate’s support for legalized abortion? In such a case, the Catholic voter must ask and answer the question: What could possibly be a proportionate reason for the more than 45 million children killed by abortion in the past 35 years? Personally, we cannot conceive of such a proportionate reason. "
"Could a Catholic in good conscience vote for a candidate who supports legalized abortion when there is a choice of another candidate who does not support abortion or any other intrinsically evil policy? Could a voter’s preference for the candidate’s positions on the pursuit of peace, economic policies benefiting the poor, support for universal health care, a more just immigration policy, etc. overcome a candidate’s support for legalized abortion? In such a case, the Catholic voter must ask and answer the question: What could possibly be a proportionate reason for the more than 45 million children killed by abortion in the past 35 years? Personally, we cannot conceive of such a proportionate reason. "
There is no proportionate reason that would allow a Catholic to vote for Obama. McCain is not a 100% pro-life candidate because of his stand on embryonic stem cell research, but his record on other life issues is pro-life. He also picked a staunchly pro-life running mate who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.
The bishops tell us:
"When there is no choice of a candidate that avoids supporting intrinsically evil actions, especially elective abortion, we should vote in such a way as to allow the least harm to innocent human life and dignity. We would not be acting immorally therefore if we were to vote for a candidate who is not totally acceptable in order to defeat one who poses an even greater threat to human life and dignity."
"When there is no choice of a candidate that avoids supporting intrinsically evil actions, especially elective abortion, we should vote in such a way as to allow the least harm to innocent human life and dignity. We would not be acting immorally therefore if we were to vote for a candidate who is not totally acceptable in order to defeat one who poses an even greater threat to human life and dignity."
Obama is the greatest threat to the unborn possible. Catholics cannot vote for him without endangering their immortal souls. Those who do illustrate the old saying: "Just because the mouse is in the cookie jar doesn't make him a cookie." Catholics who vote for Obama are mice in the cookie jar undermining the faith.
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