The Church does not tell people how to vote. Nor does it endorse any political party. There is often room for legitimate differences of opinion because it can be difficult to judge which policies – and especially which packages of policies – will contribute best to making “human life more human” (Pope John Paul II).
In this way, the New Zealand Bishops properly remind Catholics what is normally forgotten in paristan politics. Normally, there is no Catholic party, there is no one specific Catholic choice for a given election. We must take each election, each vote, not along partisan lines, but in light of Catholic sensibilities. But how we do that will differ person to person; our understanding of how to vote will differ as we reason out for ourselves who we are going to vote for (or not vote for). Certainly we can not vote for someone because of an anti-life position, but we can (as the Church has consistently said) vote for them in spite of such positions, if we find sufficient reason to do so. We must not condemn people who make prudential decisions different from our own. Only if, in answer to why they voted for someone, they provide an illegitimate reason for their vote (he’s for abortion, and I like that) can a judgment be made. Of course, prudential decisions have always been a part of democratic elections, and will always be.
In our form of democracy, the party system presents us with manifestos that are a package deal. Not every part of the package might be to our liking, or even to the liking of some candidates. And so strategic voting and coalition considerations can be called for. Part of that strategic voting is to put into parliament people of personal integrity and values, which brings us back to values, starting with our own values as members of the Catholic community.
For the whole voter guide, go here.
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