1	Voting and the Common Good Rev. Edward James Richard, MS, D. Th. M., J. D.
2	Romans 12:1-2 Do not be conformed to the wisdom of this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
3	Government for the People The Church, The State, and the Law; In the beginning The Legal Vacuum-From God to Social Engineering and Eugenics The Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter on Voting and the Common Good
4	I. The Church, The State, and the Law In the beginning….
5	Law and its Origin Moral Law is not a matter for Catholics only The Declaration of Independence The Law of Nature and Nature’s God Self-evident truth’s-God’s wisdom supplies reason with certain criteria for honest judgment Unalienable rights-The nature of the human being established limits upon the State
6	Blackstone’s Commentaries 1765-1769 Foremost law book in England and US Played a significant role in development of US legal system
7	Blackstone Those rights then which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectively invested in every man than they are; neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal laws to be inviolable.
8	Blackstone On the contrary, no human legislature has power to abridge or destroy them, .... Neither do divine or natural duties (such as, for instance, the worship of God, the maintenance of children, and the like) receive any stronger sanction from being also declared to be duties of the law of the land.
9	Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
10	Declaration of Independence --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
11	What Changed? A loss of the sense of person with unalienable rights endowed by God An Erosion of the Values of Marriage and Deterioration of Family The problem has been recognized by the Church’s central authority for well over a century as a “flight from God.”
12	Utilitarian Concept of Human Person “If this crisis (on the level of civilization) deepens, utilitarianism will increasingly reduce human beings to objects for manipulation” “Because the spiritual crisis of our times is fact a flight from God, it is at the same time a flight from the truth about the human person.” John Paul II
13	Jeremy Bentham 1748-1832 Principle of utility-basis for legal change Unwittingly, the concept of human dignity suffers a terrible blow The law can be changed now without reference to the truth about the human person, created body and soul in the image of the Creator
14	A brief … Legal History The Declaratory theory of Law Until about the 20^th Century Judges, legislators discover, not create law Recall Blackstone and the Declaration of Independence
15	A New Approach Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. A new approach The Potential for social evolution Use the law to expedite social change No need to appeal to God The law simply was a statement of compromise between conflicting social interests
16	Holmes said: “The first requirement of a sound body of law is that it should correspond with the actual feelings and demands of the community, whether right or wrong.”
17	Roscoe Pound-Harvard Law Reform the judiciary into an institution for social change The law should become an instrument for “a more effective social engineering.”
18	William James The influence of the Pragmatists Between 1881 …and the 1930’s there was a dramatic reorientation in American legal thought…During the middle decades of this century (20^th) … pragmatic instrumentalism … was our most influential theory of law in jurisprudential circles…Robert Summers, Cornell U.
19	Pius XI Philosophies which repudiated God, i.e., “the flight from God.” The Church, it was argued, was an affront to human freedom (Cf. Quadragesimo Anno, 1931, social justice)
20	Pius XI The notion of the State that made the human being the absolute subject of the State But human dignity has certain claims to make in the area of free enterprise, ex. Just wage, right to organize This was not always recognized by the alleged voices of freedom
21	Pius XI From God comes the very institution of marriage, the ends for which it was instituted, the laws that govern it, the blessings that flow from it; while man, through generous surrender of his own person made to another for the whole span of life, becomes, with the help and cooperation of God, the author of each particular marriage, with the duties and blessings annexed thereto from divine institution. Casti connubii, Dec. 31, 1930
22	Social Doctrine and Family The Church’s social doctrine and concern about the family go hand in hand. The more we look back at the issues, the more we see this. It is explicit in the teaching of the modern Pope’s. The fundamental problem is a loss of the sense of connection between God, the Creator, and His image, the human being.
23	The Effects of Destabilizing the Law Social theories affecting family life are of greatest concern to the Popes Two-fold attack Workers rights, social stability The meaning of the human body, human family, sexuality
24	Contrast the Two Views of Law “No human legislature has power to abridge or destroy… those rights then which God and nature have established, and are therefore call natural rights such as are life and liberty.” Blackstone, 1765“ Law… should correspond feelings and demands of the community,...no need to appeal to God. Holmes, c. 1900 A more effective social engineering Pound, c. 1900
25	II. The Legal Problem From the Pragmatists to Abortion and Euthanasia
26	Pius XI and Eugenics Public magistrates have no direct power over the bodies of their subjects; therefore, where no crime has taken place and there is no cause present for grave punishment, they can never directly harm, or tamper with the integrity of the body, either for the reasons of eugenics or for any other reason. Pius XI, 1930
27	Social Theory Becomes Law The pseudo-science of the eugenics movement; the state’s right and duty to determine who should and should not be allowed to reproduce. “Anti-social morons,” prostitutes, and “non-producing and shiftless persons, living on public and private charity.” Virginia's Eugenical Sterilization Act of 1924
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29	Eugenics Sir Francis Galton coined the term “eugenics” in 1883. “well-born.” Galton focused on positive eugenics Negative eugenics, developed in the United States and Germany, played on fears of “race degeneration.” working-class poor were reproducing at a greater rate than successful middle- and upper-class
30	Margaret Sanger Organized charity itself is the symptom of a malignant social disease. Those vast, complex, interrelated organizations … are the surest sign that our civilization has bred, is breeding and perpetuating constantly increasing numbers of defectives, delinquents and dependents.
31	"We Must Breed a Race of Thoroughbreds." Birth control clinics, or bureaus, should be established "in which men and women will be taught the science of parenthood and the science of breeding." "to breed out of the race the scourges of transmissible disease, mental defect, poverty, lawlessness, crime … since these classes would be decreasing in number instead of breeding like weeds."
32	The Peril of Population At a March 1925 international birth control gathering in New York City, a speaker warned of the menace posed by the "black" and "yellow" peril. The man was not a Nazi or Klansman; he was Dr. S. Adolphus Knopf, a member of Margaret Sanger's American Birth Control League (ABCL), which along with other groups eventually became known as Planned Parenthood. (Life and Education Resource, blackgenocide.org)
33	Lambeth Conference-1930 A great amount of social pressure Permitted methods of controlling births other than abstinence First Christian organization ever Pius XI responded at the end of 1930
34	US Federal Council of Churches March 21, 1931 The careful and restrained use of contraceptives by married people endorsed. Recognized that “serious evils such as extramarital sex relations, may be increased by general knowledge of contraceptives.”
35	Reaction of the Washington Post –March 22, 1931 “Carried to its logical conclusion, the committee’s report if carried into effect would sound the death-knell of marriage as a holy institution, by establishing degrading practices which would encourage indiscriminate immorality. The suggestion that the use of legalized contraceptives would be “careful and restrained” is preposterous.”
36	Washington Post “If the churches are to become organizations for political and “scientific” propaganda, they should be honest and reject the Bible, scoff at Christ as an obsolete and unscientific teacher, and strike out boldly as champions of politics and science as modern substitutes for the old-time religion.”
37	Estelle Griswold 1900-1981 Executive director - Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Association in the 1940's; “Contraception would alleviate the misery abroad and in Connecticut.”
38	Griswold v. Connecticut 1965 The state law restricting contraceptive sales to married couples was a violation of the right of marital privacy – in the “penumbra” of the Bill of Rights Justice Goldberg concurring-asserted a right of personal, as well as, marital privacy Dissenters did not like the law but said it was a legislative, not judicial, decision
39	Social Engineering? The law loses its foundation Who decides what the goals are? The liberty interest in Roe v. Wade (1973) was fashioned for the court in Planned Parenthood’s brief in Griswold and Eisenstadt (1972) The Contraception decisions open the gate Could voters, rather than courts decide?
40	Legal Pedigree of Euthanasia
41	Freedom and Human Person Note that throughout the Supreme Court has refused to deal with the question of what it means to be human This void has been filled by a social program opposed to human life Can the meaning of human freedom (privacy, autonomy) be separated from the values expressed in the Declaration of Independence? Raised by Leo XIII, Pius XI….John Paul II?
42	III. Archbishop’s Pastoral Voting and the Common Good
43	Priority of Values-Life and Family Abortion Euthanasia Embryonic Stem Cell Research Cloning Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) Therapeutic and reproductive cloning Recognition of Same-sex relationships as marriage
44	Life is a Fundamental Good Concerning the moral responsibility of voting, I … write to present the Church's teaching regarding our civic responsibility to promote the common good, above all by promoting the respect for the inviolable dignity of all human life. Archbishop Burke We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Declaration of Independence
45	Marriage and Life Considering all of the necessary social conditions to provide for the common good, among which the concerns regarding human life, and marriage and the family must have the first place, what guidance does the Church's teaching offer for the prudential decision of the Catholic in voting? Archbishop Burke God and nature have established natural rights, … life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectively invested in every man than they are divine or natural duties (such as, for instance, the worship of God, the maintenance of children, and the like) Blackstone
46	Voting Responsibility Citizens should exercise the right to vote. This is a moral obligation when the common good of the state or the good of religion, especially in serious matters, can be promoted. It would be sinful to cast a ballot for one who, in the judgment of the voters, would do grave public harm Archbishop Burke
47	Declaration of Independence That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
48	Priority of Values In weighing all of the social conditions which pertain to the common good, we must safeguard, before all else, the good of human life and the good of marriage and the family Archbishop Burke Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed Declaration
49	Voting for the Common Good If all candidates uphold the moral law in its integrity, especially with regard to the intrinsically evil acts considered above (Nos. 21-29), then it is a question of voting for the candidate on the basis of his or her character, ability to lead, record and practical plans for attaining goods proposed. After a study of the issues and with the help of civic discussion, a voter is prepared to make the prudential judgment about the most worthy candidate for each position
50	Vote to Advance Common Good If one candidate alone upholds the moral law in its integrity, then the decision to vote for him or her is clear. But, what does a Catholic do, if no candidate upholds the moral law in its integrity, that is, if all candidates hold some position which is in opposition to the moral law, as is so often the case in today's society?
51	Vote to Advance Common Good When all candidates for a particular office fail, in some regard, to support the moral law and thus foster the common good in its entirety, some Catholics simply decide not to vote at all. The decision not to vote at all, however, fails to take responsibility for any advancement of the common good, even if limited by some false positions taken by a candidate.
52	Formal Cooperation in Evil It is never right to vote for a candidate in order to promote the immoral practices he or she endorses and supports. In such a case, the voter, who assists the candidate in fulfilling his or her agenda by getting into office, intends the same evil endorsed and promoted by the candidate.
53	Cooperation In Evil It is morally permissible for a Catholic to vote for a candidate who supports some immoral practices while opposing other immoral practices under certain conditions.
54	Cooperation In Evil Conditions: 1) there is no viable candidate who supports the moral law in its full integrity; 2) the voter opposes the immoral practices espoused by the candidate, and votes for the candidate only because of his or her promotion of morally good practices; and 3) the voter avoids giving scandal by telling anyone, who may know for whom he or she has voted, that he or she did so to advance the morally good practices the candidate supports, while remaining opposed to the immoral practices the candidate endorses and promotes.
55	Immoral Cooperation If a candidate supports the deliberate killing of the innocent, abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, human cloning or the recognition of a same-sex relationship as legal marriage There is no good reason which would allow a vote for him or her if another candidate upholds the moral law
56	The Golden Rule We must ask ourselves whether it is fair to our unborn brothers and sisters to help put someone in office who will not lift a finger to save their lives because we favor that candidate's position on health care reform, education, the death penalty or some other issue. If we were in their stage of human development, would we want them to make such a decision regarding us?
57	Limiting Evil-Imperfect Candidates A Catholic may vote for a candidate who, while he supports an evil action, also supports the limitation of the evil involved, if there is no better candidate. For example, a candidate may support procured abortion in a limited number of cases but be opposed to it otherwise. In such a case, the Catholic who recognizes the immorality of all procured abortions may rightly vote for this candidate over another, more unsuitable candidate in an effort to limit the circumstances in which procured abortions would be considered legal.
58	Voting- To Do the Good Only by prayer and good counsel will a Catholic voter be able to make a prudent decision regarding what best serves the common good. If all Catholics in our nation, both Catholic voters and Catholic government leaders, had joined those Catholics and others who upheld and continue to uphold the moral law, the grave evils which plague our society would be lessened and eventually eliminated.
59	We Have The Moral Right and Responsibility to Vote for Change We cannot remain silent. We have a most serious obligation to bring the moral law to bear upon our life in society, so that the good of all will be served. Archbishop Burke Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it Declaration
60	Romans 12:1-2 Do not be conformed to the wisdom of this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
61	Thank You www.kenrick.edu richard@kenrick.edu