Is it wrong to work for the government?

[Secret_Square]

I have read many other posts on Catholic Answers concerning whether it is wrong to accept employment with private companies that support or cooperate in immoral practices like abortion, contraception, same-sex marriage, etc.

Sometimes the answer is obvious – for example, nearly all of us agree that it would be wrong to work for Planned Parenthood, NARAL, GLAAD, or some other organization whose main purpose was to promote sinful practices.

Other times the answer is less obvious. What if a company engaged in otherwise good or neutral activity like making computer software or selling discount merchandise happens to give corporate money to Planned Parenthood? What if you are a store clerk in a drugstore and a customer comes in to buy a pack of condoms? At what point does the level of cooperation become intolerable and obligate you to not seek work there, or to leave your job if you already do work there?

I could go on but I’m going to try to keep my question as simple as possible.

Given the fact that the official policy of our federal government and of most states is to permit abortion on demand, and that the official policy of some states endorses same-sex unions and euthanasia as well, do you think it is wrong for a Catholic to hold a federal or state government job? In what instances would it be wrong and in what instances would it not be? Also, should government employment be avoided on the grounds that it creates an additional burden for taxpayers?

 

[DOShea]

IMO that would be going a bit overboard. Should one not work for the phone company because Planned Parenthood has telephones? “Government” is a big and far-reaching thing, and not all parts of it deal with bad things. How about parts that advocate for children? How about clinics? What about the judicial branch? There are places in government you could work that do good things unattached to the bad things.

If one’s personal situation caused them to be too close to evil for their conscience, then it might be time to move on, but that’s going to be an individual call. One person might not like the company’s donation, where another person might be okay with it knowing they really do not control it. That person might be satisfied with writing to the company President urging the money go to someone else.

 

[puzzleannie]

I
Given the fact that the official policy of our federal government and of most states is to permit abortion on demand, and that the official policy of some states endorses same-sex unions and euthanasia as well, do you think it is wrong for a Catholic to hold a federal or state government job? In what instances would it be wrong and in what instances would it not be? Also, should government employment be avoided on the grounds that it creates an additional burden for taxpayers?

every taxpayer works for the government, at least for the first few months of the year, so unless you plan to stop paying taxes, this policy will be useless from the standpoing of influencing governments to end these activities