How to vote according to our Catholic faith

“We are Catholic Christians before we are Americans and certainly before we might be part of any political party. … The Church cannot and will not endorse a particular candidate or party.”

(Image: Markus Winkler/Unsplash.com)

Many faithful Catholics have asked me to offer some direction regarding conscience formation and the moral aspect of the many issues facing us as a nation, as we approach this year’s presidential election.

We would all agree that this election has a contentious and angry divisiveness that we have not seen in our lifetimes.

This is due, in part, to the personalities, policies, and factions in play, and it certainly has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and social unrest (I believe that there are other, more significant and fundamental reasons for the growing tension in our society, but that’s a topic for another time).

At the outset, I want to remind everyone that before all else, we belong to Christ.

We are Catholic Christians before we are Americans and certainly before we might be part of any political party.

Jesus Christ is our Savior; His teachings and the moral truths of the Church guide us in all aspects of our lives, including how we vote.

The Church cannot and will not endorse a particular candidate or party.

Instead, the pastor’s role is to teach and preach the Faith, so that all may vote with an informed conscience, even as we acknowledge that no individual or party can ever represent the totality of our values and beliefs.

For more on these distinctions, I highly recommend that you read the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ statement on voting: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.

Abortion: ‘preeminent’ moral issue

A year ago, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued a statement, in anticipation of this moment, stating that abortion is the preeminent moral issue facing our nation.

The choice of “preeminent” is deliberate here, meaning that procured abortion surpasses all other moral issues in its urgency, but clearly is not the only issue we face.

The Catholic Church has always condemned procured abortion as a very grave and intrinsic evil because it destroys human life in its most initial stage of development and fragile state of vulnerability.

Although I have always been pro-life, my commitment and understanding deepened when, as a young priest, I listened to and learned from the emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain of so many women and men who have been profoundly wounded by the violence of abortion.

As of this writing, some 62,237,640 human lives have been snuffed out in the United States since the Supreme Court made abortion the law of the land in 1973.

That each of these human lives was violently ended before they could even be born should be incomprehensible and deeply painful to us.

I am grateful for not only the unwavering witness of the Catholic Church to the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death, but also for the many heroic and generous ways that the Church supports women — both in crisis pregnancy and after their children are born — provides health care, education and social services to those in poverty, and offers hope and healing to women and men grieving in the aftermath of abortion.

The canard that the Church only cares about the unborn child, but not those who are born, is a lie.

In recent years, we have seen a radicalization of pro-abortion agendas and policies, some calling for unrestricted abortion, right up to birth.

Others have pushed the notion that abortion is such a “right” that we all should be compelled to pay for it.

Somehow, this violence is hailed as “progress” or “liberation” for women and the poor.  It is neither.

The Church will always stand up for the protection of human life and the dignity of every single person, beginning with life in the womb.

Even the drafters of the Declaration of Independence, some of them agnostic deists, asserted that all people enjoy the “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

I believe that this increasingly institutionalized disregard for human life in its most nascent and vulnerable stage has led to the increased violence against human beings that we sadly see all around us today.

We want to build a culture of life enshrined in the laws of our society in which every human being is welcomed, cherished, nourished, and received; where parents will choose life for their children, knowing that support, resources and care are available, so that all people will be able to live the dignity of a child of God, with rights and responsibilities, able to realize their potential and make their contribution to the common good.

Some Catholics are asking if they can vote for a presidential candidate who advocates for legalized abortion, as long as that is not the reason they are voting for that individual.

Let me quote Faithful Citizenship: “There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position even on policies promoting an intrinsically evil act may reasonably decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.”

Other significant issues

There are many other significant issues for consideration, to be sure.

We must care for the most vulnerable in our society, the infant in the womb, yes, but also the elderly, the poor, the homeless and those whose lives are marginalized.

We strive for greater justice in our society and for an end to violence, to racism and racial divisions.

We must work harder and press for policies that enable every person to realize their own dignity, knowing that solid education and secure employment with a living wage are the surest path out of poverty.

We have a pressing need to support marriages and families, the basic building block of our society.

And we have an urgent duty to maintain good stewardship of our natural resources and our earthly home.

We must consider policies that promote peace among nations and peoples. And we must address the growing attempts to limit one of our most basic freedoms — our religious liberty.

The promise of America, not always realized in actuality for everyone, we must say, stands for true freedom, expansive opportunity, and justice for all.

Catholic social teaching is a sure roadmap for all of us, as we seek to build a civilization of life and love, based on an authentic anthropology of the human person. Caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable, is not only the responsibility of the government.

As Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, both articulated and exemplified, all of us are called to love those around us, especially as we live out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, seeking to build a just and humane society.

The United States bishops have declared abortion as the preeminent moral issue because no other fundamental moral evil has destroyed more human lives. There is no other evil extolled in either party’s platform or candidate’s policies that matches a party’s or candidate’s promotion of the intrinsic evil of the direct and deliberate taking of so many human lives — now nearly a million each year in the United States alone.

Let me quote St. John Paul II, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”

I cannot ignore that disturbing fact and so, personally, I cannot vote for a presidential candidate who advocates for the continued legalization of abortion.

If a candidate is fundamentally wrong on such a basic and preeminent human rights issue of grave consequence to the most innocent in our society and to our own future, how can I trust the candidate to make moral and prudent decisions on many other important social justice issues pertaining to the common good?

These fundamental questions are issues of both truth and conscience which each of us must take to prayer and ask the Lord to guide us.

As we cast our ballot in the election this fall, the Lord calls us to pray, study Church teaching, form and examine our conscience and vote in light of our Catholic principles.

(Editor’s note: This column is reprinted with the kind permission of Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison.)


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About Bishop Donald J. Hying 1 Article
Bishop Donald Joseph Hying is the bishop of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin.

96 Comments

  1. For Catholics, responsible citizenship, including voting, is important. However, a critical issue hasn’t been explained very well to Catholic voters from the pulpit, and it should be: a political candidate’s position on just one issue disqualifies that candidate from receiving votes from faithful Catholics. A “disqualifying issue” pertains to actions of intrinsic moral evil: actions which can never at any time or under any circumstances be promoted, committed, or enabled. A disqualifying issue is so grave and important that it is non-negotiable, making a candidate completely unacceptable for public office at the national, state, and local level.
    For example, candidates supporting abortion are immediately disqualified as persons a Catholic may vote for. The USCCB states that Catholics must always oppose policies that violate human life or weaken its protection. Human life is sacred; attacks on innocent life are never morally acceptable. Therefore, the intrinsic evil of abortion must be vigorously opposed. A political candidate who supports abortion disqualifies him/herself as a person Catholics may vote for.
    Neither of the presidential candidates is perfectly aligned with Catholic teaching on every issue. What if, for example, neither candidate is completely pro-life? Then Catholics must attempt to limit the evil aspects of abortion, by determining which candidate would cause the less damage. It follows from Saint John Paul’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” if neither candidate is completely pro-life, then the vote must be cast for the candidate who will most likely limit the evil of abortion.
    Clearly, that candidate is Donald Trump, who restored the “Mexico City” policy and pledged to “veto any legislation that weakens current pro-life federal policies and laws, or that encourages the destruction of innocent human life.” He opposes using tax dollars to fund abortions. He called on Congress to pass laws that prohibit late-term abortion who can feel pain. He supports the text of the U.S. Constitution. He is the most pro-life President we have ever had.
    We need to speak to our priests and pastors – and Bishops – to request that they preach pro-life homilies on the weekends before the election.
    Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!

    • No matter what flim flam or blahblahblah someone says, the democrats are now pushing the right to abortion expanded to include a mother’s right of infanticide. This sums it up, along with the references cited at the end: https://the-american-catholic.com/2020/09/10/democrat-vote-mortal-sin-the-message/. And here is some history: https://the-american-catholic.com/2016/02/03/how-to-vote-nazi-with-a-clear-conscience/. Well form your conscience and there is no way you can vote for any democrat. And this does NOT mean then go out and vote GOP. Guy, Texas

      • Guy: I agree that there is no way that a Catholic with a well-formed conscience can vote for a pro-abortion democrat. But we do have moral obligations that accompany our faith. #2240 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church outlining duties under the 4th Commandment clearly states: “Submission to the authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country.”
        The party platforms of both parties are readily available and it is clear which party is pro-abortion and which one is pro-life.

    • I believe that BOTH of the major parties violate Catholic teaching and therefore a faithful Catholic should not vote for either. It is not necessary to win the election, but it is necessary to avoid compromising our consciences. In a catholic teaching the end NEVER justifies the means. We can vote as Catholics without compromising our consciences by voting for alternative candidates. One option is the American Solidarity Party (ASP). This part’s platform is totally Catholic. In a democracy it is important to state our convictions, not our compromises. If All Catholics and people of like convictions would do this, we could make the much needed moral changes to our society and world. Yes we are Christians first. We belong to a Kingdom but live in a much flawed democracy. Remember we are in the world, but not of the world. May God bless us all as we vote.

      • Actually, what would happen would be that he ASP would take votes from the Republicans, who are fighting against abortion, and therefore give the election victory to the Democrats, who are fighting to protect abortion and even, in some cases, expand it to include the death of already born babies.

        So, no, that is not a good path to take.

      • “In a democracy it is important to state our convictions, not our compromises.”

        This is one mistake in your practical reasoning but not the only one, and the ASP’s naivete will never enable it to win any political offices. We don’t live in a democracy. We live in an oligarchy.

      • We live in a republic not a democracy. Were it a democracy the BLM – Burning Looting Mugging – crowd and all of its woke sycophants would be eating the naive sheep – like yourself – for dinner.

      • There are no perfect people, especially in politics. Of the 2 men running one has spoken for 40 years about all the wonderful things he would do for minorities, and done nothing. The other candidate has made some embarrassing statements but his list of accomplishments has been very favorable to the Church and the nation.
        I must also keep in mind that I am an avowed anti-Communist and cannot vote for anyone who attacks my faith or structure of this county.

      • I agree with you totally on most points you raise. Evil is evil and our Catholic Faith teaches us to uphold the 10 Commandments. All of them have equal weighting. I do not think there is a clear choice of lesser evil between the two party candidates. At the beginning of the article, the author Bishop Donald .J.Hying clearly states that Christ comes first and that he is not endorsing any candidate. Then he goes on to pick one Commandment to justify the rest of his arguments. I am Pro-life too. It is all or nothing. You vote or you abstain. If we live, we live with the Lord, if we die, we die with the Lord.Romans 14:8
        We should all go on our knees and pray about it.

        • You are right. The injustice of so many things starting with racism is as fatal as abortion. How can one president not support abortion and with same breath encourage people to disregard their own life and expose themselves to the deathly virus just to show support for him. Then with same breath encouraging people to NOT wear a Mask as to implore his power over them. He also with that same breath wants to take away free healthcare to people with pre existing conditions and has no problem locking children in cages and take away there parents. That does not sound like a man of God to me. That sounds evil to me. I am totally pro life this candidate is not my choice. Why does a decision a women makes about her body have to be on be. Would God make me responsible for her bad choice?

          • At last someone talking sense,
            Church & state are seperate, religion is personal choice, not the law of the land .Bernadette

      • Dear Mrs. Cracker: You will be interested in knowing that a Catholic priest in Baltimore has invited President Donald Trump to consecrate the U.S. to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the feast of Our Lady of Victory on October 7th.

        • Linda M.,
          That’s amazing. Thank you.
          I’ve been to Father Baker’s shrine to Our Lady of Victory & have a prayer card from there on my icebox to remind me to pray for our nation.

    • Linda,
      You did a better job than the bishop. The answer is no you can not vote for a candidate that supports abortion,. Plain and simple. There are no other morally grave issues that take precedence. These bishops will one day face Almighty God and will have to answer for misleading the flock and the loss of many souls.

    • As the bishop said, it is theoretically possible for someone to vote for a Democrat who supports abortion. But according to the teaching of the church, that would have to be an extraordinary situation where something unbelievably evil was being promoted by the pro life candidate. We don’t have such a situation in this election. It is extremely likely that we will ever have an election with that situation. So as a practical matter, in this election, no Catholic should vote for any Democrat.

      • I think you’re wrong we have that indeed. This President is dangerous.
        I think God wants me to vote for a good decent caring man who is Catholic. A democratic who care about the poor and the needy and truly loves people.

        • My foot he “cares about the poor and the needy and truly loves people.”

          Including the millios of babies who have been or will be butchered by abortion?

        • Oh my goodness. How can one care about the poor while supporting the proliferation of Planned Parenthood clinics in their neighborhoods?
          I might give Mr Biden more slack if he wasn’t a life long Catholic . But no matter what sort of cognitive decrepitude he may suffer from , he has to know better. And I give no slack at all to his bishop.
          It’s really an appalling scandal.

    • Thank you for such a clear, concise delineation of “the problem”! I would like to take it a little further, off the esoteric level and make it personal: Those who are pro abortion and would take such policies even further in order to allow/promote even more abortion will have to answer to God. I will not have to answer for them and their sin. However, if my actions allow/promote such people to attain more power to follow that end, I WILL have to answer to God for MY actions. Today’s “I voted my conscience” for the pro abortion politician because he/she had some other ideas that I like is not going to get me off the ETERNAL hook. That’s the real “problem”. It is MY conscience/behavior that I will answer for and I cannot fall back on the notion that this Bishop or that Priest told me that abortion was a small matter compared to many others. THEY will not be spending MY eternity! I had better be crystal clear, heart, mind and soul about my decision that will affect MY eternity. This is not a he said/she said/they said election that will someday fade into the past. This is the ETERNITY we will choose for ourselves…and that’s a long time, folks!
      To make the level of abortion a little more comprehensible: The very lowest conservative estimate of abortion works out to 2.08 babies per MINUTE in the US. This includes only surgical abortions and not chemical abortions. So…how many babies are aborted while you take your morning shower, do your workout, eat your dinner, watch a movie? When you make the perspective personal, it becomes real. For people who are concerned about “systemic racism” and racial inequality, wrap your mind around the 2019 fact that more black babies were aborted in NYC than were born, over 4000 in each category. How incredible that we have a Catholic Speaker of the House, a Catholic running for President, a Catholic governor of NY (who celebrated the signing of the most radical abortion bill in the county), and We can’t seem to figure out whether or not we are Catholic enough to vote OUR eternity?
      For more information: http://www.numberofabortions.com/ Let what you see here take you on an educational journey…to the truth.

    • “What if, for example, neither candidate is completely pro-life? Then Catholics must attempt to limit the evil aspects of abortion, by determining which candidate would cause the less damage. It follows from Saint John Paul’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” if neither candidate is completely pro-life, then the vote must be cast for the candidate who will most likely limit the evil of abortion.” Linda M’s succinct statement here was missing if Fr Hying’s article. It was made clear several years ago in Catholic Answers own version of Faithful Catholic Voting. Another point not addressed is the choice to abstain from voting. Personally I find such a choice an abhorrent abdication of our most basic civic duty that devalues our free democratic process and abandons social justice on all issues brought to vote. I do applaud Linda M for saying clearly that in 2020 presidential politics faithful Catholics have one choice and one choice only: Donald J Trump.

    • Yes!! I agree
      People want all the rights to everything. What about God’s rights
      We are not living according to His teachings. Thats why tge world is in this condition. Ty for writing yr comments and opinion.

  2. Nothing else need be said…

    ROMANS 1:18-32 (RSVCE)

    18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.

    24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.

    26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

    28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. 29 They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.

  3. Biden ain’t perfect, Trump ain’t perfect; Trump is ‘pro-life.’ Trump actually talks about the Almighty in front of the public.

    Biden has been denied Communion.

    Biden is a manipulated fake. Socialism is evil.

    • Right On. Too bad we have to deal with Biden and his puppet masters for the next four years. Come on Georgia…….save the country. I’m with Fr. James Altman.

      I believe, given the power, the Left will come after the Church and tax us. Next will be the Government replacing Religion. We need Boldness in our Church now. More John The Baptist types screaming out the shame.

  4. Linda, here in the UK abortion is not so much in the public mind, but almost every candidate for political office is pro-abortion. If as you say, ‘a political candidate who supports abortion disqualifies him/herself as a person Catholics may vote for’, where does that leave the Catholic voter?
    I take your point very seriously, but do we not need, while maintaining our moral integrity,somehow to find a way of including Catholics in the electoral process?
    How glad I would be of clear and strong guidance from our bishops.

    • True. In some cases it’s morally feasible to choose between the lesser of two evils when voting. You might consider which candidate will do the least damage.

    • If neither candidate is completely pro-life, then Catholics must attempt to limit the evil aspects of abortion, by determining which candidate would cause the less damage. It follows from Saint John Paul’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” if neither candidate is completely pro-life, then the vote must be cast for the candidate who will most likely limit the evil of abortion.

    • Run for office? Groom a pro-life person to run and support her/him? Doing nothing is the same as supporting what is in place. Use your power from the Holy Spirit at baptism and confirmation to change your country! Convos-19 has changed the whole world in just the first 30 days. You can do it.

  5. I thank Bishop Hying for his statement, but it is not enough. He says “[P]ersonally, I cannot vote for a presidential candidate who advocates for the continued legalization of abortion.” He is a Bishop of the Catholic Church, Successor of the Apostles. He was not ordained to give us his personal preference but to proclaim unequivocally the teaching of Jesus Christ: anyone who harms a child should have a millstone tied around his neck and be cast into the sea. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who with his party platform calls for the expansion of legal abortion throughout pregnancy and public funding of abortion. Because this moral issue and others flowing from it are of such preeminent importance in our nation, a Catholic must vote for the candidate who upholds the rights of the unborn and who has acted to protect those rights and pledges to do more. What good reason can a Catholic Bishop have for not saying this?

    Abortion is an intrinsic evil, always gravely wrong. Addressing all other wrongs cited to us in the “seamless garment” or the “consistent ethic of life” involves prudential judgements in which reasonable people may differ. Not so abortion, an absolute and abominable crime (Gaudium et spes, n. 51). Bishop Hying and all Catholic Bishops in the United States must teach this without a shadow of equivocation. It is not a matter of their “personally” choosing not to vote for a candidate or acting “according to my way of thinking” (Cardinal Tobin). What pusillanimous and disgusting excuses these are. They are unacceptable for any honest person. They are a scandal for a Bishop of the Church of Christ.

    • You are totally wrong. The Bishop’s job is not to tell us how to vote. It is to clearly state Catholic teaching. He has done this. It is pretty obvious that applying Catholic principles, as laid out by the bishop, no one can really vote for a Democrat. So I don’t know what your complaint really is. For some reason, you want (for political purposes?) the bishop to order his flock to vote for a particular candidate or party. That would be ridiculous. Some people just insist that their bishop become a Democrat or a Republican and share their political opinions. That is not what the church is for, and you should realize that.

  6. “The Church cannot and will not endorse a particular candidate or party”. “Will not” is certainly true, “cannot” is false. The head of the Federal Election Commission has recently stated that churches and clergy can do this. President Trump signed an executive order in May 2017 saying churches and clergy can do this.
    Is Bishop Hying unaware of Father Altman, a priest in his state, who’s video, ‘You cannot be a Catholic and a democrat.Period” has hundreds of thousands of viewers (and who’s bishop has threatened him with canonical penalties for his manner and tone). There is the most pro-life candidate, and there is a candidate who not only is in favor of the current level of abortions, but wishes to increase them and have the government pay for them. It is a sad thing, as a moral teacher, that you will not speak directly to this.
    Why is this? Partly it could be that many bishops are democrats. My state has four bishops. Three of them are registered democrats, including my own (this information is available online). They go through the motions of speaking against abortion, but belong to the party of death.
    As for Faithful Citizenship, how naive can you be to believe that any more than one percent of catholics, if that, read that 92 paragraph document, which is really not any more helpful than this article.

    • The church does not take its list of things “It cannot do” from the Federal Election Commission or from Trump. It takes it from God. I have no idea why you elevate some commission or elected official above God.
      So Bishop Hying is correct. The Church is not a political organization, trying hard to get its candidates elected. For some reason, a small number of people want it to become a political organization. An explicitly political organization. Anyone who read this article and applies Catholic principles understands that they cannot vote for Democrats. So I have no idea why you are upset. Poor old Father Altman appears to be some kind of hysterical, uncontrolled priest who cannot keep out of politics. We always have such people, whether they are Father Pfleger, James Martin etc. Usually these priests with no discipline are on the left, and they view their priesthood as just the means by which they desire to advance their political causes. Altman falls into that category, unfortunately. He has some videos out there were he is spreading other conspiracy theories, about Covid, so if that is your thing, then Altman is your man. But if he wants to be involved in politics, and have lots of adoring cult members praise him on youtube, then he should resign from the priesthood and go be a politician. I think he has decided to ignore the restrictions his bishop placed on him, if I understand the situation correctly. So he’s just another James Martin or Father Pfleger, just from the other side.

  7. There is, of course, another option for those who consciences are justly troubled by both the Presidential candidates in this election. Don’t cast a vote for either candidate. We are not compelled to vote for a President. But no one seems to speak about this option much.

    • William: We do have moral obligations that accompany our faith. One of these is voting. #2240 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states our duties under the 4th Commandment: “Submission to the authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, EXERCISE THE RIGHT TO VOTE, and to defend one’s country.”
      The party platforms of both parties are readily available and it is clear which party is pro-abortion and which one is pro-life.

      • Linda, you are wrong again. The Catechism does not demand that we vote in all circumstances. If the race were between a Nazi and a communist, and you decided not to vote at all, would you be committing some sin? Does the Catechism mean that you have to vote in all elections, no matter what? How about if the race were between a Communist BLM member and an Abortion Doctor? No, the Catechism makes out a general rule that in normal circumstances, you have a duty to participate in democracy and vote. It does not demand that every Catholic must vote in every election no matter what the circumstances.

    • William,
      The Amish & many Anabaptists would agree with you but that’s their standard practice in any election. You certainly have the right to not vote also, especially if you can’t find a lesser of two evils.
      As a Catholic though, it seems pretty clear to me that Mr. Trump has accomplished much good & that a Biden/Harris admin. will carry our culture further into an abyss.

    • Because if the pro-life people all abstain from voing becuase they are “troubled” by something else about the pro-life presidential candidate, the pro-abortion candidate will win. I don’t consider that to be a good option.

    • Because nothing is to be gained or corrected by not voting. The big hit against Trump seems to be that he’s “mean” on occasion. If that’s the worst you can say about a politician , that’s pretty good. Its absolutely true that Trump has spent his presidency, when not occupied by bogus attacks from the left, in trying to regain America’s moral footing, extracting us from wars, renegotiating treaties which cost our workers jobs ,protecting our border and opposing abortion. Compare that to the Democrats who gleefully support infanticide, divide up their constituency by race and sex by pitting one against the other,and support open borders which put our people at risk from drug dealers and sex traffickers. Finally,its the Democrats whose elected minions have allowed several large American cities to burn and devolve into chaos by refusing to enforce civil law in an attempt to sway the election, such is their level of hate for Trump. Several police have been shot by virtue of this hateful action this week alone. At some point, this crowd comes for the rest of us they judge “unsuitable” or who disagree with their policies. Those same riot-filled DEM states, California in particular , have shuttered churches for no valid reason for 6 months, with no sign they will open. Who in their right mind would vote for this? Because the other candidate is a blunt talker???? Blunt talk doesnt kill anyone. Riots can. Yes, if you cant think clearly enough see the elephant in the room, please DON’T vote.

      • Most of this is Right-Wing rhetoric, not factual, as are many of the replies.

        Trump’s former appointees have stated he is incompetent and not qualified to be President. He has proven that during the COVID-19 pandemic. Do 200,000+ deaths matter too? Listen to his wavering on not accept the election results? Does this really sound like someone wort of the office of President?

        There was no good choice in 2016. It seemed like choosing Trump was the better choice. In 2020, I’m not so certain. While abortion is the pre-eminent consideration, we also need a competent leader with integrity. Trump has proven himself to be neither of these.

        • And the United States, because of President Trump, is the only country in the world to have experience a large number of deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus?

          Nonsense.

          Look at the Democrats’ refusal to accept the results from the last election (all the shrieking hysterical protests following President Trump’s victory) and their threat not to accept the results of this election if it doesn’t go the way they want. Their attitude is “We deserve to win, and if we don’t, then the election is wrong and it doesn’t count.”

          Trump’s former appointees are being cranky and spiteful because they are *former*, and currying favor with the media which make them feel important.

    • I believe there is another point of common misunderstanding among Catholics when we discuss voting. Yes, we must vote our conscience BUT as Catholics if we truly are, our consciences need be conformed to the teachings of the Church. To not vote for any candidate for a high office is an evasion of moral duty. To vote for the pro-life candidate even though he.she might not hold to all other moral issues of our faith, at least provides a positive support to the pre-eminent issue the underscores all others. If you do not have the right to be alive you have no rights at all.

  8. I totally disagree. Pro life…all life is important. Our current president only feels white people are worthy of protection. He lies about everything. It wouldn’t surprise me that he has had women with who he had sexual relations…apparently more than his three wives..have become pregnant and had abortions. He is evil through and through and has great influence over Christians and evangelicals because of this issue. He claims to be a law and order candidate but has violated many laws…those we know about and those we don’t. His big weapon is lawsuit…lawsuit…lawsuit. Please open your eyes and ears and understand how evil this man is.

      • Proof? She hasn’t even provided evidence, much less proof.

        I wonder who gave her the power to read souls, so that she is able to state so firmly that he is “evil through and through.” Meanwhile, perhaps she should look up the word “calumny.”

    • Donna,
      What executive orders or legislation signed by Pres. Trump do you consider evil?
      I look at a political leader’s track record while they’re in office, not their personality or personal life. In a perfect world it might be different but it’s a fallen world & we need to be practical & let God work with whomever He chooses.

    • Donna, it might help your decision-making to take a cold, hard look at the vice presidential pick of both candidates. Mike Pence is solidly pro-life and just about as clean-cut and upstanding as one can be in the dirty world of politics. Kamala Harris leaves much to be desired in so many areas and diverges with many of the Catholic Church’s teachings. It is quite possible that she may rise to the presidency, given Biden’s particular health. That would be a great loss for any of us devoted to the pro-life cause.

      • Porter Girl,
        Thank you. That’s an important point. Even if one can’t warm up to either presidential candidate there’s a whole different situation and contrasting set of values between the two vice presidential candidates.

      • Kamala H was Planned Parenthood’s pawn while in office in Calif. to indict courageous prolife investigators Merritt and Daleiden. They exposed the ghoulish, diabolical body parts business of PP. Guy, Texas

    • The party platforms speak for themselves. Personal likes and dislikes of the candidates are an emotional indulgence that we cannot afford.

    • Sort of surprised a site like this would print such unfounded accusations about the President. Bill Clinton wasnt any moral paragon. Nor was JFK. Or, FDR. Unfortunately in modern life many people are married multiple times. Trump has NEVER engaged in racial remarks. Whats your proof that he is racist or his women have had abortions? Or is a liar? Or are you just content to burble old and fake leftist talking points?Evil based on doing WHAT?? EXACTLY??? I am not aware he has sued anyone while President, he has however been attacked legally numerous times by the left for no good reason at all…like the phony Russian dossier, the DA in NYC wanting his taxes, etc. They are on a fishing trip to find anything with which to smear him. And I would suggest smearing a person unjustly or using the courts to do so is a serious sin.

    • “has violated many laws…those we know about and those we don’t.” This statement alone is a bit of an oxymoron Donna. If we don’t know that he has committed many laws then how can you say he has? Also, without getting into a long and detailed account of sins I have to confess that I have to confess my many sins regularly. And in doing so I pray that God’s Grace and forgiveness will allow me to grow in holiness. As a sinner who stumbles repeatedly I pray that as I grow in repentance and seek to change my ways, no matter how slowly, God will continue prod me forward and not dwell on those past sins. I do not know the condition of anyone else’s soul. That is only for God to know. I do know that Jesus suffered and died for all of us and expects each of us to want and hope for the best of each other. I am no one’s Confessor including Donald Trump. I do see actions that this man has taken in his Presidency that cause me to see a man on the road to redemption. I pray for Donald J Trump daily that God help him lead this nation back to God if that be His Will. God works in mysterious ways and I do believe He has a sense of humor too. 😉

  9. With sincere thanks to Bishop Hying for this clear teaching about this most important of issues: without life, every other cause, every other issue is meaningless. Also, thanks to Catholic World Report for printing it — would that every single Catholic publication would print and publish such clear teachings of our Faith. My hope is that every one who reads this will forward/print/send it to their own Bishop and Pastor, asking for it to be reprinted and sent to their parishioners. It is NOT a political statement to clarify which candidate stands for the continued holocaust of the preborn and which candidate, with all his flaws and vices, promotes the policy of life. VOTE FOR THE POLICY.

  10. I could not for any justifiably cause vote for a candidate that will support the slaughter of innocent children. The sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. This absolute evil is so great, it nullifies any other possible good.

  11. Trump also has the best record in history for employment records for people of color. Precovid. I’ve heard more than one African American say they could not find a job under the almighty Obama but have been doing well since Trump took over.

    Again, if you elect the left we are headed for Socialism or worse. If Biden gets in it won;t be long before Harris is in charge or is president. Trump is one of the few that does or tries to do what he promised.

    Personally, Obama got the cost of insurance up so high and I can’t find the ole’ catastrophic coverage that I used to have. I don’t smoke and don’t drink a lot but can’t even afford a health insurance policy.

  12. Dear Bishop Hying,
    Thank you and may God bless you for this very straightforward spiritual direction regarding voting with a Catholic conscience. You could not have been more direct and I cannot thank you enough!

  13. Being a Catholic in India, while I admire that Bishop Hying has, more or less spelt out his own personal views and the Catholic teachings in general, many of those who eminently commented upon the article herein have made amply clear as to who should be preferred by a Catholic voter. May Lord Jesus bless you all to choose a right person who will uphold Church’s fundamental teachings.

  14. “The Church cannot and will not endorse a particular candidate or party.”

    This is certainly not true. It is morally possible for the Church to endorse a candidate. This is true even if it amounts to political speech. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and to tax an organization which otherwise is considered exempt because of speaking the truth is an example of invidious discrimination and a violation of the First Amendment.

  15. How should the U.S. bishops respond to Catholics who are government officials whose policies result in the mass murder of innocents? Today’s bishops should follow the example of St. Ambrose, 4th century bishop of Milan, as recorded by Theodoret:

    Thessalonica is a large and very populous city, belonging to Macedonia, but the capital of Thessaly and Achaia, as well as of many other provinces which are governed by the prefect of Illyricum. Here arose a great sedition, and several of the magistrates were stoned and violently treated.

    The emperor was fired with anger when he heard the news, and unable to endure the rush of his passion, did not even check its onset by the curb of reason, but allowed his rage to be the minister of his vengeance. When the imperial passion had received its authority, as though itself an independent prince, it broke the bonds and yoke of reason, unsheathed swords of injustice right and left without distinction, and slew innocent and guilty together. No trial preceded the sentence. No condemnation was passed on the perpetrators of the crimes. Multitudes were mowed down like ears of grain in harvest-tide. It is said that seven thousand perished.

    News of this lamentable calamity reached Ambrosius. The emperor on his arrival at Milan wished according to custom to enter the church. Ambrosius met him outside the outer porch and forbade him to step over the sacred threshold. You seem, sir, not to know, said he, the magnitude of the bloody deed that has been done. Your rage has subsided, but your reason has not yet recognized the character of the deed. Peradventure your Imperial power prevents your recognizing the sin, and power stands in the light of reason. We must however know how our nature passes away and is subject to death; we must know the ancestral dust from which we sprang, and to which we are swiftly returning. We must not because we are dazzled by the sheen of the purple fail to see the weakness of the body that it robes. You are a sovereign, Sir, of men of like nature with your own, and who are in truth your fellow slaves; for there is one Lord and Sovereign of mankind, Creator of the Universe. With what eyes then will you look on the temple of our common Lord — with what feet will you tread that holy threshold, how will you stretch forth your hands still dripping with the blood of unjust slaughter? How in such hands will you receive the all holy Body of the Lord? How will you who in your rage unrighteously poured forth so much blood lift to your lips the precious Blood? Begone. Attempt not to add another crime to that which you have committed. Submit to the restriction to which the God the Lord of all agrees that you be sentenced. …
    — Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, Chapter 17

    Is it too much for the U.S. bishops to publicly and firmly rebuke Joe Biden, as Ambrose rebuked the Emperor? Biden, with his “hands still dripping with the blood of unjust slaughter,” must be publicly rebuked for his complicity in perpetuating “legal” abortion, which has taken the lives of two-billion innocent children worldwide in the last half-century. St. Ambrose, had he lived in our times, would have long ago publicly announced that it has become mortally sinful to vote for Democrat party candidates since the party ferociously advocates “legal” murder as a matter of social policy, which is exactly what the whole world condemned at the Nuremberg Trials, the prosecutors of which treated abortion as a crime against humanity.

    Yet the U.S. bishops insist on leaving a loophole the size of which a Mack Truck could drive through for leftist Catholics to rationalize voting for Democrat party candidates. There is absolutely no excuse for that. It results in millions of Catholics voting for a party that ferociously advocates “legal” mass murder. What kind of rhetoric would be appropriate for the bishops to use in exhorting Catholics to NOT vote for Democrat party candidates? See the remarks of Cardinal Clemens von Galen for a great example of rhetoric that conveys an appropriate sense of urgency:

    Cardinal Clemens von Galen Against Nazi Euthanasia

  16. This election in particular is a very easy choice of who to vote for.

    On one hand you have a president who is extremely pro-life, even signing an executive order that now babies that survive abortion must be given care. He also defends our religious liberties (better than most of our priests and bishops in the Church). He has brought peace to the middle east, especially in Jerusalem, brought soldiers home, restored peace in the international community defeating the “JV” team of terrorists. He has brought more jobs and opportunities for everyone and actively works to cure all of the self-hate promoted by his predecessor by eliminating that hateful race theory, hate of America, and attempt to re-imagine history with the 1619 project.

    On the other hand you have a man who in 47 years has done nothing to further the pro-life movement but instead supports abortion and wants us to pay for it. Not only does he want us to pay for it but to force the Church and other religious institutions to pay for it. Despite saying is he inspired by nuns, he would reverse the ruling against the sisters who recently won their court battle. He supports and promotes the destruction of the family by supporting black lives matter and officiating homosexual unions. He supports a party that cheers for the death of police, encourages burning it all down (when they don’t get their way), allows riots, looting, burning, and shooting in cities for 100+ days and counting, uses fear of Covid to gain government control, manipulated foreign relations for profit for his family while in office, and should we continue??? Oh and the biggest of all, tries to use his “Catholic” faith to win support when there is no evidence by his choices he believes ANYTHING the Church actually teaches.

    The fact that Catholics could even question who to vote for shows how blind most of us are either by willful ignorance, sin in our lives, or BAD FORMATION from our spiritual fathers.

  17. I’m old enough to remember when America was a great and a good country.

    Of course that was before we eliminated more than 60 million of our children for the sake of our careers, our bank accounts, and our lifestyles.

    I would be much more open to Bishop Hying’s familiar argument that abortion is one of a spectrum of issues that needs to be considered before casting one’s ballot if only he could give us another issue or two — or even twenty issues combined — that would outweigh the murders of more than sixty million innocent children

    Would it be the school lunch program? Opening the borders? Paid parental leave?

    Please.

    We might as well ask which of Hitler’s positive policies outweighed his murder of six million Jews and the decimation of Europe. Encouraging people to exercise? Promoting family life? Inventing limited-access freeways?

    The entire argument the overly scrupulous bishops are making — that abortion is but one of many issues — is ridiculous.

    In the past half century, our nation has distinguished itself as one of the most murderous in history.

    Any American who votes for a Democrat for national office is complicit in the most monstrous evil the world has ever seen. Period.

    And I do not say that lightly.

  18. In addition to my previous post I want to point out another more important reason why the U.S. bishops must publicly condemn voting for Democrat party candidates.

    The Catechism, in #2113, includes the state among its list of that which can be divinized in place of God, rendering one guilty of the sin of idolatry. When the state pretends to have the authority to legalize the murder of innocent humanity as a matter of social policy it attempts to deify itself as possessing god-like authority over innocent human life.

    For Christians to convey to Caesar their approval of this by their complacency and their silence is blatant idolatry, even if that silence is broken occasionally by paying a little lip service to the teaching the Holy Spirit has preserved in the Church for twenty centuries – that murder is gravely wrong, and that that includes the murder of the innocent child in the womb. It is rendering unto Caesar authority over innocent human life which belongs to God alone, the God Who commanded humanity “Thou shalt do no murder.” The martyrs of the early church didn’t just occasionally announce that it was wrong to render unto Caesar worship that belonged only to God and then do so anyway. No, they resisted rendering unto Caesar that which belonged only to God, and resisted unto death. The Church must to more than just occasionally pay a little lip service to God, they must resist idolatry unto death.

    Fortunately for us, God, in His kind providence, has give us the political freedom to end “legal” baby murder without actually being put to death. At least that is still the case at the moment. There is simply no excuse for the U.S. bishops’ refusal to boldly exhort Catholics to avoid idolatry by avoiding support of Democrat party candidates that amounts to rendering unto Caesar that which belongs only to God. St. Paul makes clear that idolaters will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The bishops’ primary responsibility is to lead the flock to salvation. Today they imperil the salvation of the flock as well as their own through their gravely sinful negligence.

    It is interesting that the beginning of the legalization of baby murder in the Western world roughly coincided with the end of Vatican II. This legalization happened too soon to be the result of Vatican II. The demise of Christianity we see throughout the Western world isn’t the result of Vatican II. Its demise is the expected result of the Church becoming idolatrous through its failure to resist Caesar’s usurpation of God’s authority by failing to use the political freedom we still possess – for a while, anyway – to do so.

  19. The Vicar of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis, makes it clear that “Abortion is not the only issue,” emphatically declaring that “If we are pro-life for all people, we must consider, weight, and honor other ‘Equally Sacred Priorities” (Sept 2020):

    https://networkadvocates.org/2020election/scorecard

    The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops agree in their November 2019 document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizens” that “Catholics are not single-issue voters.” American Magazine – The Jesuit Review, John Carr, Sept 17, 2020

    “The Church cannot and will not endorse a particular candidate or party.” Catholic World Review. Sept 23, 2020

    • That is the same old “ignore priorities” seamless garment garbage that the Jesuits, the USCCB, and Bergoglio have irrationally embraced. Only those who are leftsts first, Catholics second, if at all, cling to the seamless garment irrationality.

  20. I view abortion as a cancer on our society. It is the greatest civil rights issue since slavery, as it is the direct taking of the most innocent and vulnerable of human life. Close to one million babies are aborted yearly in this country. It has also been reported that 24% of woman under the age of 45 have had an abortion. I believe abortion opened the door to moral degeneration in our secular society, and a source of destruction of the family as ordained by God, which is the foundation of our society. Categorizing abortion as ‘women’s health care’ shows the degree of moral degradation to which our secular culture has sunk to. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) has warned us with respect to the very damaging effects of abortion on our society:

    “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

    “We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred. If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other.”

    Many women are pressured into abortion, often by an irresponsible boyfriend who can’t be bothered dealing with a child or by family members. At some point the mother realizes that she has killed her unborn child with devastating consequences. Thus, women our often the victim in abortion.

    The White House cannot directly overturn Roe vs. Wade. However, with respect to policy, Joe Biden’s pro-abortion stance is very troublesome. In addition to supporting abortion up to the time of birth, he has also indirectly supported infanticide by refusing to support a move by congress to pass legislation requiring medical treatment for survivors of an attempted abortion. Democrats have consistently blocked such legislation. He also supports taxpayer funding of abortion through cancellation of the Hyde Amendment and the Mexico City Policy, while funding Planned Parenthood. Note that 30% of abortions are performed on black woman, while they only constitute 12% of the population. Planned Parenthood has many of their facilities in or very near black communities. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist.

    Joe Biden also does not support religious freedom. For example, the Biden platform supports legislation referred to as the “Do no Harm Act” that would force health care workers to participate in transgender surgeries and abortions against their religious beliefs. It would also force Catholic adoption agencies to place children in homes with other than opposite-sex married couples. He has threatened to sue the Little Sisters of the Poor for refusing to support, against their religious beliefs, healthcare for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives and abortifacients. His 2020 campaign platform calls for the codification of Roe v. Wade as federal law, and would ensure, as part of a health care “public option,” coverage of “a woman’s constitutional right to choose.”” Taken altogether, this constitutes the most aggressive pro-abortion platform put forth by any presidential candidate.

    Joe Bidden is giving scandal to his professed Catholic faith by openly supporting abortion. He has also given further scandal to the Church by presiding at a same-sex wedding.

    This all constitutes a very troublesome scenario for Catholic voters. To make things even more complicated, DNC Chairman Tom Perez has made it clear that pro-lifers are not welcome. To counter this, there has been a recent petition circulated by pro-life Democrats to make the Party open to pro-lifers.

  21. After forty years of supporting Francisco Franco, the Fascist dictator of Spain, the Catholic Church in that country came out the worse. Attendance to Mass dropped to dismal numbers. The weight of Catholic opinion hpractically evanesced. For all practical purposes, Spain is now thoroughly secular. The kiss of death of the Spanish Church was its fervent and close support of Franco’s regime. Not wise for the Church to become the handmaiden of nefarious regimes. Not wise of this periodic journal to become nothing more than a propaganda rag for Donald Trump.

    • “Not wise of this periodic journal to become nothing more than a propaganda rag for Donald Trump.”

      Not wise to say things that bear no semblance to reality.

  22. I have prayed on this issue of abortion and discussed it with our priest one day after he gave a sermon on abortion. I told him that abortion is a politicized issue and there is clearly one political party that literally endorses abortion. And I asked why he didn’t bring this fact into his sermon. His response was that you have to let your conscience guide you. I always thought that was a weak response from a priest. But since I live in a strong democratic county I think he was afraid to go there. Evil was guiding his thoughts.
    I also believe that God continues to bless the USA as a nation of good. This election is a vote for good or evil. And since man has a free will we could go against God and allow evil to expand in our country. Then what?? Will good be in battle against evil. I pray for our president, our country and always ask God to bless all of us.

  23. Frankly, when you have two complete opposite candidates with one DIRECTLY supporting the core Catholic teachings versus the other completely opposed, THEN I believe the Catholic church has a duty to the faithful to endorse the correct candidate….if not, why? WHEN is this church going to take courage and stand up for the truth? If not, for abortion then when? People clamor for social justice and better racial attitudes and even climate change…..well, that won’t matter much if you kill the very babies who make up the next generation since dead babies don’t need rights once they are dead….catching the drift!! Time to take a stand and if it means supporting a particular candidate when the choice is crystal clear then the Catholic church must do so. We cannot allow Catholics to use that loophole I keep hearing about “well, if I vote for the bad candidate but do not ‘intend’ to help the abortion cause am I doing right them”…..NOPE! You cannot rationalize morality to suit your comforts and personal choices….let’s call this election what it is…Trump is PRO-LIFE and Biden is NOT…PERIOD!! Seems to me Catholics, voting their conscience, must vote Trump since on core Catholic teachings there are no gray areas. Liberal Catholics who think this election is a difficult choice should maybe decide IF they want to remain Catholic as this faith may be asking more than they are willing to give.

  24. I keep seeing Christians say they can’t vote for Joe Biden because of his stance on abortion. I”ve seen Christians proudly state they are single-issue voters – it all comes down to abortion. So they’ll vote for Trump. Because he promises to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade. That’s the one and only thing that matters.
    But why? Why is that the one and only thing that matters?
    Is that the one and only thing that matters to Jesus? Reading through the Bible, I would say unequivocally “NO.” What does the Bible say directly about abortion? And I ask this from my pro-life heart. The Bible has FAR, FAR more to say about pride, about abusing power to mistreat the poor, about lying, about treating others with hatred, about humility, about seeking forgiveness, about faithfulness — about ALL of that than it does about abortion.
    So, Christians, why are you so willing to toss all of those morals aside? Why are you so willing to turn a blind eye to so many behaviors that are completely, blatantly in opposition to the heart and character of Christ?
    When I read about Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, I see a man who has wrestled with his faith. I see a man whose heart wants no abortions and who has struggled throughout his years in public service to determine the best way to accomplish that. Is it by making abortion illegal? (At one point, he said “yes.”) Is it by prohibiting government funding of abortion? (At one point, he said “yes.”) Or is it by supporting public policies that make abortion rates decline? (This seems to be where he’s landed.)
    This personal wrestling resonates with me. I have had those same wrestling matches within myself.
    Did you know – between 1981 and 2016, the sharpest decline in abortion rates occurred under Democratic Presidents – not under Republican Presidents. The rates especially dropped under the leadership of President Obama and continued to decline after he left office. Most everyone agrees the reason for this is because access to contraception is key in preventing pregnancies. And under the Affordable Care Act, contraception coverage became more widespread. Even though some states enacted new abortion restrictions between 2011 and 2017, by 2017 57% of the nationwide decline occurred in states that had not enacted new abortion restrictions. So there is evidence that pursuing legal action isn’t necessary (or effective) to reduce the amount of abortions.
    I am pro-life. I would like to see zero abortions. I also want to honor and value the lives of women who find themselves in the position of considering abortion. Those lives also matter to me. So I don’t believe criminalizing the choice is the best way to truly help those women. I think public policies that offer help and hope — financial and medical – are the best ways to reduce abortions.
    Therefore, I need to find political candidates who will support programs that help the women who are most likely to feel that abortion is their only option, candidates who support making effective contraception affordable and accessible to everyone.
    I also want a candidate who values all life. Refugees’ lives. Women’s lives. Black lives. Poor lives. Lives during a pandemic. The lives of people who disagree with him.
    You see, when you say you’re voting for Trump because you’re pro-life, I can’t take you seriously. Because Trump has not proven himself to value lives. For the love! – read his Twitter and show me how this man values life.
    When you say you can’t vote for Biden because of your Christian beliefs, I can’t take you seriously. Because again and again and again, Donald Trump’s words and actions fly in direct contradiction to the character of Christ.
    For the past four years, I’ve been so disillusioned and heartbroken and sad to see so many Christians abandon their morals and contort their beliefs in order to justify their support of someone who so obviously violates every moral and value I was taught in the Church.
    Somewhere along the line, political masterminds decided that evangelical Christians could be manipulated into believing abortion and gay marriage are the only two things God cares about.
    Friends, that is a lie. You have been hoodwinked.
    Obviously, you don’t have to vote for Joe Biden. But you can’t use our Jesus and the Bible to defend your support of Donald Trump.

    • Paula,
      Which action of Pres. Trump to protect religious freedom or the lives of children in the womb flies in direct contradiction to the character of Christ?
      Actions speak louder than words.

    • Contraception is also a terrible sin, especially since so much of it is abortifacient. And your cherished President Obama wanted to force religious people to violate their consciences by providing contraception and even abortion coverage via mandated insurance plans.

      “When I read about Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, I see a man who has wrestled with his faith.”

      I see a man who has wrestled with his faith and decided that basic tenets of it don’t really matter as long as he can get elected to public office.

      “What does the Bible say directly about abortion?”

      It says “Thou shalt not kill.”

      Nice try with the sympathy about women who consider abortion; not take a look at the ones who have abortions for frivolous reasons, and there are a lot of them.

      Your laundry list of people whose lives you claim don’t matter to President Trump is disingenuous. Black lives don’t matter to him? Planned Parenthood slaughters black babies at a very high rate, and he wants to stop that. How is it that he doesn’t value “refugees’ lives,” “women’s lives,” “poor lives,” “the lives of people during a pandemic,” and “the lives of people who disagree with him?” He isn’t advocating killing any of those people. You disagree with his policies regarding illegal immigrants, and decide that if you call them “refugees” it makes a handy stick with which to beat a man whose policies you don’t like. You wail about “poor lives” and ignore the fact that the president’s policies resulted in record low unemployment in groups who have large numbers of lower-income people in them, like black and Hispanic Americans. (And, by the way, those treasured “refugees” of yours drive down wages and make the unemployment statistics for those groups worse).

      “read his Twitter and show me how this man values life.”

      Seriously, you think that Twitter posts that can be cranky and insulting somehow equates to “doesn’t value life?” Then I can see by your post here that you don’t value the lives of those who disagree with you.

      “so obviously violates every moral and value I was taught in the Church.”

      Calumny. Also, it would sound to me as if you were taught in the Church at the time of rainbows and fluffy happy clappy tripe in the late 60’s and early 70’s, when the CCD books contained practically no actual information. Except that since you avoid the word “Catholic” as if it were the plague, I gather you aren’t one.

      I can’t take you seriously, because for one thing you bear all the earmarks of a concern troll, and for another your pretence at lofty disinterested fairness is quite thin, and for a third you provide not actual specific reasons, just wild accusations (President Trump doesn’t care about coronavirus victims!”)

    • You are so deeply deceived that your post warrants no further comment. As Jesus instructed us, don’t cast your pearls before swine.

    • When I read about Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, I see a man who has wrestled with his faith. I see a man whose heart wants no abortions and who has struggled throughout his years in public service to determine the best way to accomplish that.(sic)

      A false assertion thoroughly refuted by the fact that Biden’s NARAL rating went from 36% to 100%.

  25. Paula, the reason Catholics and other Christians focus almost exclusively on abortion is because it is the number one social justice issue, from which all others hinges upon. It’s not that the other issues don’t matter. They do. But they aren’t going to be solved until the number one problem, abortion, is eradicated. The phrase “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” comes to mind.

    A nation that allows innocent unborns to be slaughtered is selfish, prideful, uncharitable, and abusive. The very things pro-life Republicans and Trump are accused of.

    Biden claims he’s “helping women,” but he’s actually enslaving them. He’s had many years in office to “fix” things. His track record is lousy. Trump, in the short amount of time he’s been President, has made great strides in advancing the pro-life cause as well as America’s sovereignty. It should be pretty obvious to see who’s actually working and who’s actually manipulating.

  26. Articles like these are so unnecessary. What self-important tool uses their influence to tell people how to vote? Whether a person is pro-choice, pro-life or absolutely ambivalent about the issue is of no matter. I once had a priest who absolutely would not touch on the issue of politics because he believed that each person had the ability to speak to God and could ask Him (who is above an opinion piece author) to speak to them individually and guide their hearts. Consult your God, folks. This opinion article should not take His place.

    • Whether a person is pro-choice, pro-life or absolutely ambivalent about the issue is of no matter.

      Your strongly opinionated commitment to no opinion is duly noted.

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