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Post by Mr. Daniel on Apr 9, 2013 13:13:16 GMT -5
Which political party in the United States should Catholics support?
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WillL
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Post by WillL on Apr 10, 2013 10:03:58 GMT -5
I find it very concerning that both parties in the US support one aspect of life but deny the other. The Republican Party promotes a pro life agenda yet supports the death penalty. The Democratic Party denys a baby the fundamental right to live but promotes an anti death penalty agenda. Being both pro life and anti death penalty, I find it very difficult to see my party take an opposing view on such a basic moral. But I have to argue that the Republican Party takes a stronger position as the party of life. The idea of the death penalty does not stand as a major platform for the party and some republicans do show dissection to this policy. But as a whole most if not all republicans show their convictions for the pro life ideal. Additionally the death penalty deals with convicted criminals who have committed some heinous crime. A baby on the other hand is the most dependent of beings and the most innocent of life. Criminals are neither innocent nor dependent.
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Post by williamreckamp on Apr 13, 2013 15:57:42 GMT -5
I agree with Will L. if you truly are a Catholic you would support the Republican Party. As Will said the Republican Party is pro-life because they assert the sanctity of every form of human life (including the fetus). They oppose public revenues that would fund organizations that would perform abortions (e.g. Planned Parenthood). Obviously Democrats support abortion and the death penalty, which goes against our Catholic beliefs. To add to Will's argument Democrats also support embryonic stem cell research. They believe this because this type of research would cure more 100 million people with diseases like heart disease and juvenile diabetes. Catholics believe that a human embryo is a human person so it so be treated with human dignity. This research does not respect the dignity of the embryo so it is viewed as being unethical.
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Post by Claire Pandaleon on Apr 14, 2013 14:05:39 GMT -5
Like Will, I am extremely concerned with what both parties promote about life. In my opinion, there is no true "party of life". Both Republicans and Democrats promote as well as go against the basic moral respect for human life. I believe there is a problem with saying one party is totally pro life and the other is totally not because that makes the issues very black and white when the issues at hand shouldn't be treated with extremes. With big and important issues we have to observe the grey areas. I find more guidance through my Catholic faith than I do through political parties today.
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Post by Mr. Daniel on Apr 14, 2013 15:04:37 GMT -5
If both parties support policies that attack life, can a Catholic vote for either one of them in good conscience? Wouldn't my vote indicate that I was in some way participating in an evil?
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Post by elizabethk on Apr 14, 2013 15:46:55 GMT -5
I agree with Claire with stating that there is no "true party of life". I also feel like both parties are contradictory, believing in principles that support and violate life. I don't think that Catholics can vote for either one of the parties with good conscience because either way, there are principles that are for and against actions that effect life. For example, the Republican party is against abortion, but for the death penalty.
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Post by williamreckamp on Apr 14, 2013 21:42:50 GMT -5
Everyone here believes that there isn't a specific party that truly protects the human dignity of a person and I agree with them. Democrats support abortion while Republicans don't. However both Republicans and Democrats support the death support so there is no one that truly protects human dignity. However if I were to pick between the two I would pick the Republican party because they oppose abortion, gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research unlike Democrats.
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Post by isabellar on Apr 14, 2013 21:48:55 GMT -5
I would disagree with Elizabeth because I think that while there might be, "no true party of life". Catholics can vote, for either party, in good conscience. This is because I think that there is a lot more to party politics and their affect on a culture of life than abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, etc. I think the discussion is overlooking the important issues that lie in between conception and natural death. One important aspect of the culture of life is the quality of live which exists for those people who are living now. Are all people being treated equally and fairly? Are there sufficient options for the poor and underprivileged to get by? Are innocent bystanders not getting gunned down on city streets every week? I'm not saying that abortion and death penalty are not important or not an important part of Catholic morality, just that there is more to consider when looking for a party the supports a culture of life.
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Post by elizabethg on Apr 14, 2013 22:14:23 GMT -5
Everyone has made some very good points and i believe that it is very hard for catholics to support either political party. Both parties reject catholic teachings in some way. And mr Daniel also brings up a good point about weather or not it is morally permissible for catholics to vote for either party. According to the principle of legitimate cooperation it would not be morally permissible for a catholic to vote for anyone who rejects catholic teachings because they are participative in an evil act in someway. As Will said, the republican party is pro death penalty so if you vote for them you are encouraging an evil act to happen which is not morally permissible and if you vote for the demarcate party who denies a baby the fundamental right to live that would also be immoral, so catholics should just avoid political parties all together, or vote for someone that has the same moral beliefs as you
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Post by isabellar on Apr 15, 2013 8:52:34 GMT -5
Elizabeth is correct in saying that when using the principle of legitimate cooperation, it may seem like its not morally permissable to vote for democrats or republicans but the principle of double effect also applies here. Its true that both parties hold some positions that are not in line with Catholic teachings, but they do both have some good policies too. The voting is not entrisically evil and as Catholics most of us do not intend for the evil consequences. the evil consequences dont bring about the good ones for example, legalizing abortion bring about universal healthcare. The question is do all of the Good things parties try to do outweigh the bad. I think there is a lot more that we have to consider besides abortion and death penalty.
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eryks
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Post by eryks on Apr 15, 2013 9:02:28 GMT -5
I hav to agree with one part of what Isabela had to say within her arguement. "I think the discussion is overlooking the important issues that lie in between conception and natural death." We must remember that both parties are pro life in general, that everyone deserves to live. The question we must ask ourselves is whether woman have the right to make a decision for themselves to abort a child or not... Also, like Isabela said, we must be able to distinguish between natural death and an intentional abortion. Read more: mrdanielethics.boards.net/index.cgi?board=abortion&action=display&thread=232#ixzz2QXZh6UxB |
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Post by felicityfitz on Apr 15, 2013 15:27:17 GMT -5
Why should religion have to conform to a political party? Keep law and religion separate. Just vote for a person who you think mimics your personal values. Simple as that.
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Post by carmenmarruenda on Apr 15, 2013 18:15:32 GMT -5
I agree with Isabela when she said "there might be, "no true party of life". Catholics can vote, for either party, in good conscience."
I don't think a religious belief should be a big deal when it comes to politics. Both parties,can believe whatever they want but that doesn't mean that what the candidates have to offer is all based on religious beliefs.
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Post by peterm on Apr 15, 2013 18:26:25 GMT -5
Why should religion have to conform to a political party? Keep law and religion separate. Just vote for a person who you think mimics your personal values. Simple as that. In a perfect world this is ideal. However, we don't live in a Utopian society we do have to confront the fact that we must prioritize our values. Like Will said, if you are Catholic, topically you believe that both abortion and capital punishment are immoral. I personally believe we should protect the rights of the unborn over those who have already ruined their own lives. To get abortion made illegal, you may have to sacrifice the belief against capital punishment. Unfortunately, we are forced to play the political game |
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Post by peterm on Apr 15, 2013 18:33:02 GMT -5
If both parties support policies that attack life, can a Catholic vote for either one of them in good conscience? Wouldn't my vote indicate that I was in some way participating in an evil? To vote either way has become a sin. that is a social sin. As a democratic society, we (theoretically) elect the person the majority finds to be best suited. Thus, we all must accept the social consequences of our governments actions. That said, voting now becomes a decision in which we all must take the utmost care in and using our conscience make the best possible decision we can in pick our elected officials. |
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