Burke v. Faithful Citizenship

In his keynote speech at the National Catholic Day of Prayer breakfast, Archbishop Burke declared: But, there is no element of the common good, no morally good practice, which a candidate may promote and to which a voter may be dedicated, which could justify voting for a candidate who also endorses and supports the deliberate […]

In his keynote speech at the National Catholic Day of Prayer breakfast, Archbishop Burke declared:

But,
there is no element of the common good, no morally good practice,
which a candidate may promote and to which a voter may be dedicated,
which could justify voting for a candidate who also endorses and
supports the deliberate killing of the unborn, euthanasia or the
recognition of a same-sex relationship as a legal marriage. The
respect for the inviolable dignity of innocent human life and for the
integrity of marriage and the family are so fundamental to the common
good that they cannot be subordinated to any other cause, no matter
how good it may be.

In their 2007 statement, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the U.S. Catholic bishops said:

34. …A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, 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.

35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.

This clearly envisages the possibility that a Catholic could conscientiously vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights. Will any active bishop, contra Burke, say so? 


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