Voting as a Catholic

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Monica4316

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I live in Canada and the federal elections are today.

I can’t really figure out though… is it better to vote for the party that you actually agree with, even though they won’t win (such as: the Christian Heritage Party), or the party that is more likely to win (Conservatives) that is better than the NDP/Liberals? If the NDP and Liberals win, they would support greater access for abortion… if the Conservatives win, they’re likely not to, but - my MP is actually pro abortion.

From the Catholic perspective… who is better to vote for? I’m only looking at pro life and marriage issues in this, because I will not vote pro choice.

any thoughts or opinions??

thanks 🙂
 
Also, if I vote, someone from my family will come to vote with me, but she is voting Liberal… if I don’t go, she probably won’t go either. I can’t decide, is it even worth voting? :confused:
 
Vote! It matters.

Campaign for Life

Check out your riding and evaluate your candidate’s position on Family Values and Life.

No vote is a wasted vote.
 
the problem is, my MP is pro choice…and all the other ones are pro choice as well… however, my MPs party (Conservatives) are the least pro choice.
 
Hold your nose and vote. It doesn’t have to be “I agree lock step with this party”. To not vote is so incredibly insulting.
 
Monica4316 said:
Also, if I vote, someone from my family will come to vote with me, but she is voting Liberal… if I don’t go, she probably won’t go either. I can’t decide, is it even worth voting? :confused:
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I can’t tell you who to vote for, but voting is considered by the Church to be a responsibility of a Catholic in a free society. How your family member votes is not your moral responsibility, and even if their vote would be out of line with the Church they should not be discouraged or prevented from voting. If someone were to ask for a ride to the polls and we are capable then we should provide the ride, there is no charity in actively or passively seeking to suppress the voices of others.

Personally I would vote for the people I agreed with, but many would disagree and vote for the most viable candidate.
 
I don’t agree that “not voting” is wrong. Sometimes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

Please pray and let the Holy Spirit guide you; I know how difficult it is sometimes. May God bless you whatever you decide! 👍
 
From what I understand, catholic voters have 5 “non-negatiable” issues. These are abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, euthenasia, and human cloning.

I use the following website from Campaign Life Coalition to evaluate candidates.

campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Federal_Candidate_Evaluations

In my case, I have only one candidate who is pro-life (he happens to be Conservative). This made my decision on who to vote for incredibly easy. I would not vote for a pro-choice candidate except perhaps if there were no pro-lifers to choose from. The Liberal, NDP, and Green Party all have pro-choice philosophies (some individual candidates my be pro life though).

I hope that helps.

Bearontherun
 
LPS said:
I don’t agree that “not voting” is wrong. Sometimes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

:
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If you don’t vote you give up your right to complain about anything politically.

You also might as well stamp “Loser, Loser, Loser” on your forehead.
 
I say vote for the party you most agree with. When politicians think they can get your vote for nothing, they end up giving you nothing in return. If politicians know that to get your vote, their positions must align with your preferences, they fall in line. These guys work for you - make sure they know what you stand for.
 
LPS said:
I don’t agree that “not voting” is wrong. Sometimes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

Please pray and let the Holy Spirit guide you; I know how difficult it is sometimes. May God bless you whatever you decide! 👍
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That argument doesn’t apply in areas like the US when a large range of candidate are available in most cases and write ins are always accepted.
 
Bearontherun said:
From what I understand, catholic voters have 5 “non-negatiable” issues. These are abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, euthenasia, and human cloning.

I use the following website from Campaign Life Coalition to evaluate candidates.

campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Federal_Candidate_Evaluations

In my case, I have only one candidate who is pro-life (he happens to be Conservative). This made my decision on who to vote for incredibly easy. I would not vote for a pro-choice candidate except perhaps if there were no pro-lifers to choose from. The Liberal, NDP, and Green Party all have pro-choice philosophies (some individual candidates my be pro life though).

I hope that helps.

Bearontherun
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thanks 🙂 well the Conservative candidate in my area is pro choice…and all the other ones are pro choice as well… is the Christian Heritage Party an option?? for some reason it’s not showing up on the website’s list of candidates, but I know they’re running…
Rascalking said:
If you don’t vote you give up your right to complain about anything politically.

You also might as well stamp “Loser, Loser, Loser” on your forehead.
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well I’d rather be called “loser” than sin by voting pro choice because no one is pro life where i live.
smichhertz said:
This is what the Church has to say on the matter:

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20021124_politica_en.html

The gist of it is you need to vote pro-life, but you are not required to vote for a candidate that is likely to win.

In the event where there is no pro-life candidate that is likely to win, you may vote for the more moderate pro-choice candidate for “damage control”.
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thanks for the info 🙂

God bless
 
Monica4316 said:
well I’d rather be called “loser” than sin by voting pro choice because no one is pro life where i live.
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It’s just what I’ve seen in my own life. People who don’t vote are usually one of three types.
  1. Those who are to stupid to follow current events and are more worried about celebrities and sports.
  2. Those who are to lazy to get out and vote
  3. Those who are self righteous and say “I don’t vote for anyone who isn’t pro-life 100 percent, even though by not voting, the person who is MORE pro choice will win. At least there is no blood on my hands!”
 
LPS said:
I don’t agree that “not voting” is wrong. Sometimes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

Please pray and let the Holy Spirit guide you; I know how difficult it is sometimes. May God bless you whatever you decide! 👍
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That’s what ‘write in’ votes are for! Can’t decide between Evil Candidate A and Evil Candidate B? I say vote for your grandmother, the daily communicant who is charitable to everyone!
 
Monica4316 said:
thanks 🙂 well the Conservative candidate in my area is pro choice…and all the other ones are pro choice as well… is the Christian Heritage Party an option?? for some reason it’s not showing up on the website’s list of candidates, but I know they’re running…
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No one from the Christian Heritage Party is running in my riding…so for me they are not an option. I’m not sure why they don’t show up on the list of candidates for your riding if they are running. The site does give a general overview of the largest federal parties including the Christian Heritage one, so I would think that they should be included. They do list the CH party here…

campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Evaluating_the_Partys

Bearontherun
 
Bearontherun said:
No one from the Christian Heritage Party is running in my riding…so for me they are not an option. I’m not sure why they don’t show up on the list of candidates for your riding if they are running. The site does give a general overview of the largest federal parties including the Christian Heritage one, so I would think that they should be included. They do list the CH party here…

campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Evaluating_the_Partys

Bearontherun
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thanks… in case the CHP doesn’t show up, would it be a sin to vote for the Conservative candidate though they are pro choice? I read that it’s a sin to vote for pro choice candidates… not sure what to do
 
I have heard that if all the candidates are all pro-choice, it is okay to vote for the one who is the least strongly pro-choice (who you think would do the least damage in that regard).

saviorquest.com/news1/catholicvoters.htm

I found near the bottom of the site shown above, there is a part that talks about the situation where there is no ideal candidate and how you may handle that case.

I think it makes sense that you can still vote, since one of the candidates will be elected…you can vote for the one that you see as the least damaging.

Bearontherun
 
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