since you asked...

“Whom do I vote for? It’s hard to find a single candidate whose views on the sanctity of life are completely consistent with Catholic teaching.”

That’s a great question, for which my grandmother had the perfect answer. Each year on Election Day, when she entered the voting booth, she would kick Granddad under the curtain and ask him whom to vote for. Her system worked well until the year it happened that the man she had kicked under the curtain wasn’t her husband!

I don’t know if you ever had a chance to meet Grandmother – she lived in Greenville – but from your question you clearly understand the moral of her story. We need to spend time thinking about whom to vote for before we get to the polling place.

What Grandmother’s story doesn’t tell, but she surely would have if you’d asked her, is that our faith should guide the choices we make on Election Day just as faith should guide our actions every other day. The starting point for any important decision is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Campaign strategists often take it for granted that we will vote our own best interests. Yet for followers of Jesus, or Abraham or Mohammad for that matter, it that isn’t enough to simply look after our own interests. We are called to look after our neighbors as well.

If we asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Grandmother would recount the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:8-16). And if our cousins inquired, “And who is my neighbor?” she would retell the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

Before each of the recent presidential elections the bishops of the United States have issued a call to political responsibility. While the bishops don’t offer names of candidates to vote for like Granddad did, as spiritual leaders they do identify moral priorities for public life. Among the moral priorities mentioned in their statement prior to the last election were:

Protecting Human Life: Avoid abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, assisted suicide, war, the intentional targeting of civilians in war, and the preemptive use of force. Strengthen barriers against the use of nuclear weapons, anti-personnel landmines, and the global arms trade. Protect society against violence without resorting to the death penalty.

Promoting Family Life: Protect marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. Ensure just wages are paid to workers and offer generous aid is offered to poor families. Protect and nurture children. Ensure families are able to choose the education best suited for their children. Balance freedom of speech with the promotion of the common good when regulating the media.

Pursuing Social Justice: Assess the impact of economic decisions on the dignity of the human person. Promote the creation of jobs with decent working conditions and adequate pay, overcome unjust discrimination, and protect the right of workers to unionize, protect economic freedom and the right to private property. Reform welfare in ways that reduces poverty and promote greater responsibility rather than cutting resources and programs. Support affordable, accessible health care and housing. Support agricultural policies that offer food security for all, along with a decent return for farmers and justice for farm workers. Care for immigrants and address the root causes of migration. Address education issues, the “culture of violence,” reform of the criminal justice system, care for the environment, and practice global solidarity.

Contrary to what some pundits would have us believe, those priorities don’t parallel the platform of either political party. As you noted, it is difficult to find a candidate whose position is consistent with the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life. Considering the entire list of priorities offered by the bishops is even more challenging. And when we consider the complexity of some of these issues, the task can be downright daunting. People who care deeply about providing health care or safe housing for the poor can differ over the best approach. And candidates are prone to making promises that are impossible to keep once the election is over.

So what are we to do? The most important thing is not to give up. As good citizens and followers of Jesus we can and should:

  • consider the needs of our neighbors, especially the weaker ones,
  • identify all the key issues, not just the ones that affect us,
  • identify important values (e.g., justice, respect for the dignity of every human life, and peace),
  • learn where the candidates stand on each of these issues,
  • prayerfully consider your choices,
  • vote in every election,
  • stay in touch with elected officials to let them know what you expect.

As Christians, we are responsible for our neighbor. As citizens of a democracy we are responsible for choosing leaders who will attend to the needs of the weakest members of our society.

Thanks for asking. And good luck! I’ll be praying for you on election day.

Msgr. Steve Worsley, MD, STL, is Vice President of Mission and Ethics at St. Joseph Healthcare in New Hampshire.