Voting Guide for Catholics

How should faith influence Catholics in the 2024 election? The principles of Catholic social teaching offer guidance, as described by Dr. Gerard Powers, Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies at University of Notre Dame. Powers says a moral obligation to build a better society can begin with informed decision-making in the voting booth, and at a recent talk (PDF below) he explores several criteria for evaluating candidates.

Of course, a candidate's position on issues are center stage, but Powers notes how Catholic social teaching doesn't follow the script of the campaign trail. Instead of asking what a candidate will do for one's specific interests or well-being, Catholic social teaching advocates for a "consistent ethic of life." Powers detailed four foundational themes in Catholic theology:

Human Dignity,
The Common Good,
Subsidiarity,
and Solidarity.

Other election considerations are Non-Negotiables, issues that have a higher order of moral significance. For example, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops asserts “abortion remains our pre-eminent priority.” However, strict adherence to voting for a single issue has its own downsides, such as minimizing other intrinsic evils like racism, or ignoring existential threats like climate change or nuclear weapons.

The Bishops are clear that Catholics are not single-issue voters. Voters can disqualify a candidate if the candidate supports intrinsically evil acts. However, "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.” If the favored single-issue candidate does not support or is indifferent to other equally important values, then the voter is justified in choosing the opposing candidate despite their major shortcoming on the one issue. A cited doctrine from the Vatican notes, "A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church’s social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility towards the common good.”

Powers adds there is one quality that cannot be overlooked--fitness for the office of President of the United States. Does the candidate have the moral character and the capacity to deal with the task while upholding the basic norms of our democracy? For Powers, the future of democracy is the prime issue of the 2024 election.

So who to vote for? Can't say, but Catholics have institutional guidance to work through the nuances of multiple and complex issues to weigh. And after election day, regardless of the outcome, opportunities continue for citizens to influence policy decisions. Get out and vote, then stay involved.

Thanks go to Dr. Gerard Powers for conveying the Catholic perspective on voting at St. Thérèse Little Flower Catholic Church in South Bend, IN, on October 3, 2024. His handiwork (PDF) is used with permission, and was reported in a National Catholic Reporter article.