Editor's Desk: Never too Late to Vote for Life

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Editor
(From the issue of 11/4/04)

The voting booths in Northern Virginia received unprecedented traffic on Tuesday as this issue of the HERALD was finalized. By the time you read this, the presidential election will be over (not counting any last-minute legal appeals).

Regardless of whether you voted for Kerry or Bush, it is important that we move forward as a unified Church and nation, both for the safety of our troops overseas, and for the critical domestic issues that will be decided during the next four years.

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde’s pre-election letter, which was published in last week’s issue (and inserted into parish bulletins), gave local Catholics much to consider as they prepared to cast their vote.

The bishop said that as Catholics examine the positions of candidates on numerous issues in the presidential and other election contests, they must allow their conscience to be guided by fundamental principles. He reiterated what the his fellow bishops stated in "Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium," that the critical principles by which we should judge those who run for elected office are the protection of human life, the promotion of family life, the pursuit of social justice and the practice of global solidarity.

The foundation for these principles is the protection of human life, since without it the other three would be rendered meaningless, Bishop Loverde said. "If we do not uphold and protect human life in its beginning at conception, there will be no life to uphold and protect thereafter.

"To be a faithful Catholic necessarily means that one is pro-life and not pro-choice," said Bishop Loverde. "As my brother bishops and I said in our statement ‘Catholics in Political Life’ this past June, ‘Failing to protect the lives of the innocent and defenseless members of the human race is to sin against justice.’ To be pro-choice essentially means supporting the right of a woman to terminate the life of her baby, either pre-born or partially born. No Catholic can claim to be a faithful member of the Church while advocating for, or actively supporting, direct attacks on innocent human life."

The bishop said that protecting human life from conception to natural death is more than a Catholic issue. "It is an issue of fundamental morality, rooted in both the natural law and the divine law.

"Keeping in mind the four priorities that I have outlined," Bishop Loverde continued, "some have wondered whether one may vote for a candidate whose stand on abortion and other life issues is contrary to the teaching of the Church if one believes that that candidate has a better position on other issues of importance to Catholics and indeed to our nation (e.g., national security, taxation, job growth, economic policy, etc.). Let me be clear: to vote for a candidate precisely because of his or her pro-abortion stance is an instance of formal cooperation in a grave evil. Such formal cooperation is, according to the constant teaching of the Church, never morally permissible."

The 2004 presidential election is over, but the formation of a Catholic conscience is an ongoing process. We’re at an important crossroads in our nation’s history. Just like Roe vs. Wade allowed millions of Americans to believe that killing unborn children is morally acceptable, laws that are approved in the courts and legislatures over the next few years will determine the moral direction our society will take for generations to come. It’s never too late to vote for life. — M.F.F.

Copyright ©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.