{"id":7734,"date":"2016-05-28T13:21:31","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T17:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=7734"},"modified":"2021-11-20T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-20T19:20:45","slug":"how-can-a-catholic-vote-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2016\/05\/how-can-a-catholic-vote-for-trump.html","title":{"rendered":"“How Can a Catholic Consistently Vote for Trump?!!?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"JFKMonroe\"<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve only had one Catholic President, and he was nominally Catholic at best, and a Clintonian womanizer. Here is President Kennedy (his back to the camera), U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy (far left), and actress Marilyn Monroe, on the occasion of President Kennedy\u2019s 45th birthday celebrations at Madison Square Garden in New York City (19 May 1962). Photo by Cecil W. Stoughton<\/span> [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to respond to two queries I received in the comboxes of my posts about Donald Trump here on Patheos<\/em>. Polly Macdavid<\/a> commented:<\/p>\n

Also, you\u2019re a Catholic? I know lots of Catholics who hate\u00a0<\/em>Trump, many of whom are in my own family. Maybe they won\u2019t vote for Hillary Clinton but they won\u2019t vote for Trump either. They\u2019ll sit this one out. In fact, I predict the lowest voting numbers in history this coming election.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, I\u2019m Catholic. I vote for the candidate who is pro-life, or at least more pro-life than the other person. If I were in Germany in 1932, I would have voted for the guy who didn\u2019t hate Jews and didn\u2019t want to kill them.\u00a0Some considerations are far more important than others.<\/p>\n

DanielS<\/a> (apparently a Catholic) also asked a similar question:<\/p>\n

Dave, I\u2019m eagerly awaiting [Catholic talk show host and author] Al Kresta\u2019s analysis of whether or not a Catholic could, in good conscience, vote for Donald Trump. He seems to presently be leaning against the idea, but admits he\u2019s waiting to see more information and more of Trump\u2019s specific plans. In the meantime, I would love to read your own thoughts on the matter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Church allows us to vote for less-than-perfect candidates, even if they believe some things we cannot accept, in cases where it is \u201clesser of two evils.\u201d\u00a0The biggest dealbreaker for me is being pro-abortion. I won\u2019t vote for anyone who is.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known Al for almost 35 years, and he was in the pro-life rescue movement when I was, in 1989-1990. I think in the end he would almost certainly pull the lever for Trump, given the choice. I\u2019d be very surprised if he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Daniel counter-replied:<\/p>\n

Thanks, Dave.<\/p>\n

By \u201cyour thoughts\u201d I meant an article that specifically addresses concerns that many Catholics raise about the moral liceity of voting for Trump. Some folks cannot, in good conscience, vote for what they consider to be an evil; and folks like Al have been vociferous in stating that it is a bullying tactic to encourage people to vote against their conscience simply because the alternative is a Hillary presidency. As Al has pointed out, \u201cvoting for the lesser of two evils\u201d may not be a particularly great way of phrasing things. We\u2019re not entitled to ever directly will evil.<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ve at least looked through each of your relevant articles on this, but I\u2019m sure that this specific concern has been addressed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don\u2019t see any particular need to write about that, because our choice is either Hillary or Trump. If we are to remain involved in civil politics, as the Church wants us to be, we need to vote for a viable candidate for President (who actually has a chance to win).<\/p>\n

The Church allows us to vote for folks who aren\u2019t totally in line with Catholic teachings. After all, there has been just one Catholic President (JFK), and even he was a nominal one, and a womanizer.<\/p>\n

Obviously, then, no presidential candidate has ever been completely in line with Catholic beliefs or moral practices. They\u2019re either Protestants or secularists (and Romney was even a Mormon, which isn\u2019t even Christian; Jefferson was a Unitarian, Sanders is Jewish, etc.). That means we have to vote for less-than-ideal candidates from our Catholic perspective.<\/p>\n

This is no violation of conscience. The Church allows and encourages it.<\/p>\n

I have no trouble voting for Trump at all. He is clearly the superior choice in this scenario. It doesn\u2019t follow that I agree with every<\/em> jot and tittle of what he stands for, nor does voting for him imply<\/em> that, as Catholic social teaching regarding voting makes clear. He was my 15th choice of the original GOP primary candidates.<\/p>\n

I was originally a Cruz guy, then switched to Rubio, and would\u2019ve voted for Kasich in the Michigan primary (but I didn\u2019t vote in it, because Trump was far ahead). I liked all the candidates except for Pataki (pro-abort) and Gilmore (know nothing about him).<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s GOP (Trump) or Hillary. Few choices have been clearer than that.<\/p>\n

My biggest concern by far is the pro-life issue, and the closely related matter of new Supreme Court Justices. We know beyond any shadow of a doubt what sort of Justices Hillary would select.<\/p>\n

Trump has provided a list of eleven judges he would choose from (or at least judges of like mind). He was widely praised and given kudos for selecting judges who are accepted as genuinely conservative, constructionist, pro-life, etc.<\/p>\n

The choice then is crystal-clear: either radically leftist, childkilling Justices from Hillary, who will dominate the Court for at least a generation, or the pro-life conservatives that Trump has said he would appoint. That\u2019s not a difficult or conscience-torturing choice at all. The Catholic votes for life, and the chief way that progress is made on the life issue is through the overturning (or at least modification) of the radical Roe v. Wade ruling, which came from on high, from seven men in 1973.<\/p>\n

The significantly restrictive pro-life legislation currently taking place in many states \u2014 almost on a monthly basis \u2014 is a direct result of later Supreme Court decisions that allowed restrictions of abortion, and those decisions came as a result of pro-life Justices on the Court. As I like to say, \u201cThis ain\u2019t rocket science.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

See my Previous Posts About the 2016 Presidential Campaign:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Trump a Conservative; Even \u201cReaganesque\u201d?<\/a> [1-6-16]<\/p>\n

Trump & Reagan: Shocking Similarities<\/a> [1-15-16]<\/p>\n

In (Partial) Defense of Donald Trump <\/a>[3-10-16]<\/p>\n

Roarin\u2019 Lyin\u2019 Ted<\/a> [5-4-16]<\/p>\n

15 Reasons Why Trump Wins in November <\/a>[5-5-16]<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s High Negatives \/ Polls (Dialogue)<\/a> [5-10-16]<\/p>\n

Trump is a Slimeball, Moron, & Scumbag<\/a> [sarcastic, satirical title, 5-27-16]<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/div>\n
*<\/span><\/div>\n
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We\u2019ve only had one Catholic President, and he was nominally Catholic at best, and a Clintonian womanizer. Here is President Kennedy (his back to the camera), U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy (far left), and actress Marilyn Monroe, on the occasion of President Kennedy\u2019s 45th birthday celebrations at Madison Square Garden in New York City (19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":7735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,289],"tags":[2768,2769,2776,2423,1015,2896,2895,1826,2424,746,2897],"class_list":["post-7734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-issues","category-political-ethical-moral-issues","tag-2016-presidential-campaign","tag-american-politics","tag-american-presidential-election","tag-bernie-sanders","tag-catholic-social-teaching","tag-catholics-trump","tag-catholics-and-presidential-election","tag-donald-trump","tag-hillary-clinton","tag-pro-life","tag-supreme-court-abortion"],"yoast_head":"\n"How Can a Catholic Consistently Vote for Trump?!!?"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Church allows us to vote for flawed candidates like Trump, who believe some things we cannot accept. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}