Can ANYONE, even the Church tell us how to vote?

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Recent Presidential elections [plural] have changed the face, the very morality of our Nation {IMO]

Can ANYONE, even the Church tell its members how to vote?

WHY or WHY-NOT:shrug:

God Bless you

Patrick
 
No one can tell anyone how to vote. What would be the point of free elections if we were told who to vote for?

What the Church can and must do it help it’s members to form their consciences, so that they can make the best, most informed decisions about who to vote for when the time comes.
 
Insofar as the Church is the bride of Christ, the word “Church” can and should be substituted with the word “God”.

Thus, the real question is whether your faith in God has anything to do with the way you vote.

If your faith is in God and not a political party, then the question is easy to answer.

Jesus said “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s”

Jesus advises to keep to two realms apart. If a political party infringes upon “the things that are God’s”, can you support such a party?
 
The Church can urge us what issues are the most important and that we form our consciences based on Jesus’s teachings, the Ten Commandments,the Catechism, the Beatitudes and the Gospel.

That being said, the Church does not tell us who to vote for. Nor does it force us to vote for a particular person. Ultimately, the person must do what God wants.

I have heard however, that it is a mortal sin for someone to vote for a candidate who supports abortion.
 
One way to think of it, from a non-practical and entirely philosophical point of view is that God couldn’t care less about our system of government, which is only a tenth as old as the Church and only a speck compared to the wisdom of the Almighty.

My guess is that he wants us to do the best we can with what we’ve got. We have imperfect information and we can’t know the future.
 
jaimeleglise said:
I have heard however, that it is a mortal sin for someone to vote for a candidate who supports abortion.
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I don’t think that anyone can say this is true.
It might be “grave matter” to vote for a pro-abortion candidate, but in this day & age, sadly, it is almost impossible to find a candidate, for any election, who does not support “choice”.

In the end, it is up to the voter, based on their conscience, to choose what usually amounts to the “lesser of 2 evils” 😦
 
PJM said:
Recent Presidential elections [plural] have changed the face, the very morality of our Nation {IMO]

Can ANYONE, even the Church tell its members how to vote?

WHY or WHY-NOT:shrug:

God Bless you

Patrick
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To the extent that we are morally obligated to uphold certain principles in our voting, the Church can offer guidance on how to go about make voting decisions. However, within the framework of our moral values, we must make many prudential judgments on our own.

For example, a candidate’s stated platform may seem to uphold everything we believe in as Catholics, but a voter who knows that candidate’s history may doubt the candidate’s authenticity. Or, two opposing candidates may each uphold certain moral principles but neglect others, leaving the voter to determine which candidate ultimately is a better choice. Yet another candidate may be morally sound but wholly incompetent. Still another may uphold moral teachings, but disagree with us on the most effective way of supporting those principles through legislation. Then there are those candidates with whom we may agree on virtually everything, but who simply aren’t able to build enough of a support base to get elected – in such cases, we may have to decide whether to vote for the candidate we most agree with or the candidate most likely to stop another candidate we find truly reprehensible.

Church teaching instructs us on matters of faith and morals. It doesn’t offer guidance on determining an individual’s authenticity or competence, economic or scientific principles, or political strategy. Even within the Church’s framework, diversity of opinion may exist such issues, allowing for two Catholics to make different conclusions about the best candidates to vote for.
 
The Church can’t tell you HOW to vote, but it can and should provide moral guidelines to help you determine how to vote. If Catholics actually voted as CATHOLICS, instead of democrats or republicans, we could change the direction of this nation. Because Catholics aren’t liberal or conservative, we’re Christian. If we followed the teachings of the Church, we’d find ourselves opposed to both major parties because both of them are in conflict with true Catholic beliefs. If Catholics would actually unite in voting like Catholics, we could run a third party candidate in line with our beliefs, and they would win.
 
Of course anyone can tell anyone else how to vote. But you have free will, so…
 
AKDee said:
If Catholics actually voted as CATHOLICS, instead of democrats or republicans, we could change the direction of this nation.
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True, but even if we all voted as Catholics, we could still disagree on many issues. For example, two Catholics, agreeing that employers have a moral responsibility to pay fair wages, could disagree on whether minimum-wage laws help or hinder the lowest income earners, or on what precisely the minimum wage should be, if there is to be one at all.
 
It’s a secret ballot; vote however you want. There are MANY institutions out there recommending how people vote and none of them have the authority to force you to vote their way.
 
Anybody can tell you how they **think **you should vote, and some may hold authority in the Church, but they are not the Church.

The Holy Church claims no such authority.

ICXC NIKA
 
Re: Can ANYONE, even the Church tell us how to vote?

Yes.

Ok - so yes.

Now how?

Vote for the good - and against the evil…

One must vote with an informed conscience and according to Christian morality.

So yes.

(for further info see the Catholic Answers voters guide)
 
Voting is a prudential issue, which means those in charge of the decision need to be the ones to make the decision, using their knowledge and praying for God’s grace.

There will never be a perfect politician; we can see that through history! Even saints can make mistakes, if only through lack of knowledge.

So we need to consider our Faith, and weigh the issues, and decide ourselves. As an act, we should try to disengage ourselves from considerations of human respect so that we can make the decision freely.

(What Pope Benedict wrote about abortion is that it would be wrong to vote for a pro-abortion politician *because of *his or her advocacy of abortion. But to vote for that person despite the advocacy, *if done for a proportionate reason, *is not.)
 
Bookcat said:
Re: Can ANYONE, even the Church tell us how to vote?

Yes.

Ok - so yes.

Now how?

Vote for the good - and against the evil…

One must vote with an informed conscience and according to Christian morality.

So yes.

(for further info see the Catholic Answers voters guide)
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Very nicely put. But, today’s voting options leave us in a conundrum.
 
Ontheway said:
Very nicely put. But, today’s voting options leave us in a conundrum.
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Certainly not what I desired. But path seems rather clear seeing the very weighty issue of the Supreme Court Justice appointment and likely another 1 or 2 to come!

Effects the country (and LIFE!) long after the 4 years of the President.

(And I could not vote for a pro-abortion President when there were other choices).
 
Only if you let them tell you how to vote. But ultimately man has free will, your vote is yours and yours alone.
 
Padres1969 said:
Only if you let them tell you how to vote. But ultimately man has free will, your vote is yours and yours alone.
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But as many posters have pointed out here, one has the obligation to properly form one’s conscience in accordance with the teachings of the Church.
 
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