Wednesday, February 20, 2008

More on Kmiec

Doug Kmiec followed up today at Catholic Online on the piece he wrote for Slate a few days back. Needless to say, the self-described “conservative Catholic” bloggers have been pounding him as a traitor to the cause, with still-recovering Deal Hudson saying that Kmiec is hoping for a Supreme Court appointment out of Obama. Poor theo-cons!

First, I think Kmiec’s original piece was not meant to represent his personal views, but to be a smart political analysis of the Catholic vote in the United States. In that endeavor, he achieved great success.

In the second article, Kmiec does a great job illustrating that it is the duty of Catholics to be discerning voters and the importance of sober moral inquiry into who Catholics should vote for in any given election. It is a great piece, so go read it!

The simple fact: a Catholic voter in America faces difficult choices. If only more Catholics would realize this, I think we would have a party or a set of candidates who would better represent us. I want to call your attention to what I would argue is the most important passage in the document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship from the U.S. bishops published last fall:
Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods.

A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.

At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.
Do you hear that pro-abortion Democrats? You place your soul in jeopardy by having your party label mean more to you than your duty to oppose evil. Repent now!

And do you hear that too theo-cons? You are not allowed to sacrifice your judgment to the GOP because they have a pro-life plank in the platform. You must also free yourself from political dogma that supports the evil excesses of war and the false god of patriotism. Repent and believe in the Gospel!

Do not despair in this temporal world, for Christ has conquered it. It is time to become radically faithful to Christ over and above allegiances to the parties of your forefathers.

Your vote belongs to you and nobody else. Don’t be afraid to vote for someone without a D or R behind the name. Sometimes it’s the only way!

Mason Slidell

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