This post will not be popular with many, but I have to make it for the sake of my own soul, and perhaps, for the souls of others.
I try to steer clear of politics, and directly endorsing any particular candidate. No person, no Catholic, can be told who to vote for. However, Catholics do have an obligation to not support candidates who support actions that go directly against Church teaching. As I said in a previous post, it is the position of this blog that no faithful Catholic can in good conscience vote for the current Democratic candidate for President because of her position on abortion. I will add here her position on contraception access, and same sex marriage, also preclude any Catholic from being able to vote for her. These, as I have discussed in my "tough teaching" series, are all acts the Church considers intrinsically immoral, and cannot be supported under any circumstances.
This week, that candidate has begun pulling away in the polls, and the likelihood of a victory by her is growing. I need to make it clear that any Catholic who votes for her for President puts his or her salvation at risk, and will have to answer for that act on judgment day. I know this sounds harsh, but it has to be said.
If we believe any or all of the following, we are facing trial and tribulation if she is elected.
Abortion is wrong, and if one is involved in procuring one or more of them, and does not repent, he or she puts his or her salvation in jeopardy.
The use of contraception is wrong, and one who uses it, and does not repent, puts his or her salvation in jeopardy.
Gay sex, or "sodomy", is wrong, and those who practice it, and do not repent, put their salvation in jeopardy.
If this candidate is elected, we will be forced to support all these things, or face consequences. We can see it happening already. We see what happens when Catholic hospitals refuse to do an abortion. We see what happens when Catholic employers do not want to include birth control in their insurance plans. We see what happens when states want to define marriage as between one man and one woman. We see what happens when bakers, and other industries involved in wedding planning, do not want to support a same sex marriage. We see what happens when a Catholic adoption agency refuses to send a child to the home of a same sex couple We see what happens when a Catholic school fires someone who lives not in accordance with Church teaching.
These things are fought in the courts. Sometimes we win, but usually we lose. If the Democratic candidate is elected, and she gets to nominate judges, we will never win, and we will pay the price. We will not be free to live our faith. We will be prosecuted, and thrown in jail. Religious rights will cease to exist.
Like I said, this persecution has begun now, but if this candidate is elected, it will be, as I heard someone say, "lights out" for the Catholic Church in the United States. Our schools, hospitals, and other agencies may be forced to shut down, or go underground, because they are forced to support what they deem immoral practices. All the good that comes with them; education, health care, social services, charity, will be gone, or at minimum, hidden from public view. Our churches, because they speak of good and evil, right and wrong, may lose their tax exempt status, and will become so financially strapped they have to shut down.
No amount of good anyone does can offset the evil he or she supports. Why would it matter on judgment day about one's policies on the environment, the economy, or health care, if he or she supports the butchering of children in the womb? We should think of that before we support such a person being in political office.
So, if voting for this candidate is not an option, what is our recourse? The other major party candidate, while far from perfect, has indicated support for judges who will support religious liberty. Whatever we think of him, we know as Catholics we will be freer to live our faith under his administration than the other major party candidate. Under his administration, we will better be able to continue to do the good we do, to do the good works, and lead people to salvation.
If, despite this, we are not comfortable voting for him because of character or other issues, we can support other candidates who support at least more of Church teaching than does the current front runner. If there is no such candidate we can support, we can decide not to vote. However, this last option contributes to not making any positive contribution to the common good, which is hard to believe can be something defensible on judgment day, unless it can be proven that voting for anyone in a given election would diminish the common good, which I find hard to believe can be the case.
So, there it is. If the polling is a predictor of how the election will turn out, faithful Catholics will have to get ready for really difficult times ahead. Standing firm for the faith will cause more trial and tribulation for the believer than it has in a long time, if ever. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we can stand firm, endure, and even have joy and peace in the midst of the trials, but the point is there will be trials. Are we ready for them? If we are, are we convinced our loved ones, and society is? Will they persevere in the trial? Will they avoid the trial by compromising their beliefs, and then, put their eternal salvation at risk? I think the answer is no, most of us are not ready, most of are us are not spiritually equipped, many of us will compromise on our beliefs, and abandon the struggle, and put our souls at risk. Therefore, we need to pray that the outcome of the election is not what the polls are indicating now, and we absolutely need to ensure we do not participate in procuring that outcome by voting for the current front runner.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
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