Bishop Ronald W. Gainer
Bishop of Lexington
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the months preceding Election Day, we have witnessed several elected
officials who are Catholics publicly address the Church’s teaching on
the grave matters of conscience formation, the inviolability of innocent
human life and voting. Several of these Catholic politicians have cited
the document of our United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
entitled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” in a way that
misrepresents the intent of the document and the authentic teaching of
our Catholic Church – misrepresentations that warrant clarification.
For many people in our increasingly secularized culture, conscience is
erroneously reduced to a collection of personal preferences that are
thoroughly subjective and relative. In this wrong understanding of
conscience, every individual opinion is assigned moral correctness and
the existence of objective truth is denied. Yet, the very mission of the
Church as a teacher of right and wrong rests on the existence of
objective truth and the conviction that this truth can be known by
us.
In our Catholic moral tradition, conscience is not an inclination inside
of us that allows us to justify doing whatever we want. It is not a mere
feeling about what we should or should not do. Conscience is the voice
of God in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to
do what is good while shunning what is evil.
Before following our conscience, we are obliged to form our
conscience. A well-formed conscience requires that we have a
sincere openness to embrace goodness and truth. We must be students and
learners, shaped and challenged by the Word of God and the teachings of
the Church, rather than embracing a partisan position and then
stretching for ways to justify it.
Conscience formation requires that we examine the facts and the
background information on issues. Conscience formation requires that we
evaluate each candidate’s past record on issues and the general
direction each candidate would give to the issues. In forming our
conscience then it is critical that we see beyond party affiliation,
analyze campaign rhetoric carefully and choose according to moral
principles rather than self-interest.
Finally, since a well-formed conscience seeks always and everywhere
to discern the will of God in some matter, prayerful reflection is
essential.
In summary, rigorous study, moral reflection and prayerful consideration
are the primary elements in forming one’s conscience. When our Church
takes a position on some moral issue, you can absolutely trust that
these three elements have been vigorously involved.
Catholic moral teaching is not a hodge-podge of competing and equally
valid opinions.
Granted that there are many and complex issues that are in our hearts
and on our minds as we go to the polls on November 4th. For
that matter, Catholics and all people of good will can arrive at
different opinions and various solutions for such issues as the delivery
of health care, the revitalization of the economy, the use of military
force, taxation policies, and the many other issues that face voters in
the upcoming election.
However, we must be aware that not all political issues carry the same
moral weight and that there is a serious moral obligation on all of us
to oppose in conscience and in action those issues that are
intrinsically evil. We are not free to choose whether or not we shall
oppose those things which in and of themselves are always and everywhere
morally evil.
From this, it is clear that the defense of the sacredness of human
life from the very moment of conception to natural death is THE
paramount issue of our time. Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning and
embryonic stem cell research are intrinsic evils – actions that are
always and everywhere wrong and no circumstance can justify their
use. Each is a direct attack on innocent human life. The fact is that
since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, every medical and
genetic discovery has underscored the human personhood of the unborn
from conception.
We have all heard fellow Catholics say that “I can not be a single issue
voter.” Fair enough – there are many issues on all of our minds. But
consider this. If someone were to break into your home – your place of
security and well-being – and hold a scalpel to your throat with the
intent to kill you, I suspect that you would in that moment become a
single issue person. In that instant, everything would focus on the one
question: What must I do to survive?” Everything else immediately
becomes secondary. Many of the unborn are precisely in that
situation. They cannot act in their own defense. You and I must.
Throughout the United States Catholic parishes have been praying The
Novena for the Election, seeking God’s direction for our nation as
Election Day approaches. In these final hours study, read, pray. As a
faithful citizen, cast your vote. May the Holy Spirit guide all of us to
act on consciences conformed to the will of God.
