Not Guilty? A Moral Question
Fr. Newman of Greenville, SC, informed his parishioners that voting for Obama was a sin, and that such a person should go to Confession (see the previous post). His diocese immediately silenced him. Now Father has mitigated his statement somewhat, allowing for a voter who opposes abortion yet voted for Obama as the lesser of two evils (I'm paraphrasing).
I'm inclined to prefer Fr. Newman's original letter as providing the better food for the souls under his care. Voting for Obama was certainly a serious misjudgment, and confession is certainly good. A serious Catholic would only benefit from Father's letter.
Was a vote for Obama a mortal sin? I'm inclined to think so. Several bishops made it clear that this was a grave matter, e.g., Bp. Gracida. We know that anyone who approves of any abortion falls into mortal sin. This is so even if the person doesn't know it's a baby, for the natural law informs everyone that abortion is a grave matter that requires serious reflection; hence, failure to inform oneself is itself sinful. "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. His eternal power also and divinity: so that they [the Gentiles] are inexcusable." (Romans 1:20) Likewise, voting for someone who promotes abortion is also mortally sinful, given that the other candidate is less pro-abortion.
On the other hand, we are permitted to vote for the lesser of two evils. Is it possible that Obama was the lesser? I don't see that argument at all, and several bishops openly refuted that. But what about the subjective state of mind of some voter? Especially one who grew up on "Seamless Garment" gibberish?
So, the question is, could someone have voted for Obama "in good conscience" and incurred no sin? Or merely venial sin?
We live in a time where clear thinking has all but vanished, a time when supposedly good Catholics invoke pop psychology to invert common sense. An example of this I keep on file is from a newsletter published by Fr. John Perricone, a priest who says the Latin Mass. The July 1997 issue of Excelsis, the newsletter of Christifedeles, featured an article by Austin Ruse that contained the following horrifying and false statement: "The Catholic Church teaches that even an Aztec priest gutting virgins on a slab can achieve the beatific vision, but only if he has never formally rejected the claims of the Catholic Church, and, in the gutting, follows the dictates of his conscience." I bring this up because, if Aztec murderers are exonerated, Obama voters could fare no worse. In fact, if Ruse is right, who can sin at all?
"To excuse yourself on the grounds of ignorance is to excuse one sin by another." (St. John Chrysostom)
Thoughts?
Comments (2)
In my view, any Catholic who voted for Obama should be excommunicated. For better or for worse, it's not my play.
I cannot see how any Catholic could over look Obama's pro abortion world view.
Posted by Robert | November 20, 2008 12:37 PM
Posted on November 20, 2008 12:37
Austin Ruse's statement, like most of what comes from the official Church in America, comes from a desperate desire to avoid accountability. "I had the best of intentions, certainly God can't hold this against me".
Americans in general, and Catholics in particular, continually fail to see the connection between the idea that morality is private and the current degraded state of civilization. They continue to believe the tripe that spews forth from their TV sets, and shake their heads while we continue to murder babies in the womb and innocent foreigners in their beds.
For me Obama was never even a consideration. My agonizing was over whether to vote for the lesser evil, who was still manifestly evil, a third party candidate who still worshiped at the altar of the state but did not manifest any objective evil, or just pass on the whole charade (for it is indeed a charade).
The underlying agreement in America has always been based on the Lockean separation of body and soul, that government could function without a particular religious point of view, "I can't impose my morality on you". That, of course, is patent nonsense, and only held as long as political power was exercised by a group of people who basically held the same beliefs. Those days passed a while ago.
Nothing has changed since St Ignatius of Loyola's "Two Standards" meditation. Todays Americans, like all who came before must choose their king... Christ or Satan. No other choice is possible. You can't serve Christ and be a good liberal.
I'm usually not this strident, but after more than forty years of listening to this nonsense on a continuing basis I'm quite tired of it. A good working definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Enough said....
Posted by Kevin C | November 20, 2008 12:42 PM
Posted on November 20, 2008 12:42