More and more Catholic bishops in the US are compelled to state the criteria for Catholics to vote, is that important outside the Catholic circles? Yes, simply because there are so many Catholic voters.
However, the presumable preference among these voters for Obama may be indicative of their distancing of what some call the single issue policy: the insistence of some bishops to be first and foremost concern about the pro-choice politicians, see here and for a Catholic critic, see this post.
Still, from the point of view of moral theology, there are some less forceful interpretation of how much are the Bishops having to point to McCain (without ever stating it explicitly) as the lesser evil. And here is the doctrinal difference for some: look at an interesting distinction made in the footnote in a letter, of who was back then still Cardinal Ratzinger, which was sent to Cardinal McCarrick (former cardinal of Washington DC) here.
«A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate’s permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons».
Does specifically the last line allow for some better reasons to elect Obama given that some favor his solutions for the economic crisis and a recovery of a more "constructive" foreign policy? I leave it up to bishops and moral theologians to discern the doctrine in between the lines.
At this point, what is at stake is the selection of two or more Supreme Court justices, and I think, this is what makes the Catholic Church in the US fear some long enduring changes (these judges stay for life, way passed the time the President who chose them is out of the White House) based on the mentality behind the freedom of choice act.
(Patricia Pintado, Columbus, Ohio)
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