The 5 Non-Negotiable Political Issues
Jan 26, 2009 Five Non-Negotiable Issues, Obama Administration
In order to give readers a good basis for where I am coming from politically, I think I should point out what I am referring to when I refer to (and I will often) the five non-negotiable political issues for Christian Voters. These are outline in greater detail in the Catholic Voters Guide, but the fact is that any Christian who votes for a candidate who supports any of these five sins against human dignity is in material cooperation for evil and is thus committing a mortal sin (one that places your eternal soul in danger).
The issues:
- Abortion
- Euthanasia
- Embryonic Stem Cell Research
- Human Cloning
- Homosexual Marriage
All five of these things are intrinsically evil; that is, they are evil in every case without exception. As is stated in the Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion General Principles document, Pope Benedict (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) addresses the difference in the weight of political issues:
Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.
This is a crucial distinction, as the argument usually follows a “how can you support the war” or “how can you support capital punishment” alongside championing the unborn child line, and clearly they are on an uneven field and not set up for good comparison. (As it happens, I am against the death penalty in this country as I find it entirely unnecessary, but the fact is that someone can disagree with me and we can both be in communion with the Church.)
I hope you will find this initial post helpful in understanding where I am coming from. This entire site will not be about abortion in politics, but I will refer often to the five non-negotiable issues and especially in a time with a President as against these five principles as any we have ever seen in our nation’s history.
Tags: Abortion, Cloning, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Euthanasia, Five Non-Negotiable Issues, Homosexual Marriage, Pope Benedict, Ratzinger, Voting
