Pre-Vatican II moral theologians on voting in a non-Catholic country…

Catholic Morality on Voting: Obligation, Permissibility, and that Pesky Problem of the ‘Lesser Evil’

This is not a political post. It’s a post about the general Catholic position as regards voting in democratic elections, which falls within the purview of the Church’s moral theology. The reason for publishing this post (upon request a second time) is to inform Catholics who are not sufficiently familiar with the topic so as to clarify what is often misunderstood and remove doubt and uncertainty, thus helping to properly form consciences.

First, let’s look at a brief general overview.… READ MORE

Setting the record straight…

The Morality of Voting:
Is it Permissible to Vote for the Lesser of two Evils?

This is not a political post. It’s a post about the Catholic position as regards voting in democratic elections, which falls within the purview of the Church’s moral theology. The reason for publishing this post is to instruct Catholics who are not sufficiently familiar with the topic so as to clarify what is often misunderstood, remove doubt and uncertainty, and ease consciences.

First, let’s look at a brief general overview.

In their magnificent 2-vol. summary of Catholic morality, the Dominican Fathers John McHugh and Charles Callan included a succinct treatment of voting, which we quote below.… READ MORE