Third Sunday after Easter

Thoughts for the Week - Fr. R. Taouk 
12th May 2019

On the Grave Duty of Voting and Voting Rightly (Part 2)

Dear Friends,

In a letter to the Bishops of Germany, our holy patron Pope St. Pius X set down the principle of morality in public life. "Whatever a Christian does even in worldly affairs, he is not at liberty to disregard what is supernaturally good, but he must order all towards the highest good as his final aim, in accordance with the precepts of Christian wisdom. All his actions are subject to the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church."

One should not vote unquestioningly for a party.  Even if one party is plainly preferable, however, no party is perfect, and unquestioning adherence to any party is unreasonable. We must judge according to the principles of faith and morals.

Parties have different degrees of importance in different constitutional systems.  Voters must therefore take into account that in voting for a certain candidate they are likely to be supporting the positions of that candidate's party and may be voting for government by that party. Therefore, the merits of both the parties and the candidates should be considered.

At times one may have to vote for the lesser of two unworthy candidates.  One usually should vote for good candidates even if they seem certain to lose. However, sometimes there are three or more candidates, where no worthy candidate has any chance of winning, and the race is close between two unworthy candidates, one clearly worse than the other. Then, instead of voting for a worthy candidate as a mere gesture which will have little significant effect on the common good, one should try to prevent the election of the worse of the unworthy candidates by voting for his or her less bad opponent.

Even though the duty to prepare oneself and vote in certain elections might be light matter, the responsibility is grave in principle, since the common good is very important and will be seriously affected if people fail to vote conscientiously.

The key points that need to be understood in any election are the following:

1. Knowledge of Catholic principles.
2. Knowledge of candidates.
3. Knowledge of issues.
4. Use of a wise means of voting properly.