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On Ratzinger Quote

Comment added by cda on Thu 26 Aug 2004 - 08:03 h

I think the interpretation of Ratzinger's words may not be accurate.

Ratzinger is quoted as saying, "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."

Then the quoted source gives the following interpretation: "In other words, if a Catholic thinks a candidate’s positions on other issues outweigh the difference on abortion, a vote for that candidate would not be considered sinful."

However, "outweighing positions on other issues" does not equal "proportionate reasons." At the very least, such an interpretation is questionable. We should not be so quick to claim Ratzinger as an authority. If I remember correctly, he basically rubber-stamped that whole communion-ban on pro-choice candidates thing in a memo to Cardinal McCarrik.

First, proportionate reasons may have nothing to do with other issues and may be only circumstantial. For example, it may be the case that both candidates are pro-choice, in which case one may vote for a pro-choice candidate on the basis that that candidate opposes partial birth abortion (whereas the other does not). Or it may be the case that there is a three-way (or more) race in which the only pro-life candidate is a third-party long-shot (maybe he is a former KKK member or something?). Voting for the long-shot may engender a victory for the "abortion-on-demand" candidate. As such, one may have "proportionate reason" to vote for the other "moderate" pro-choice candidate.

Second, to "outweigh" abortion and/or euthanasia, an issue would have to be on the same level qualitatively. Abortion and euthanasia are both considered "intrinsic" evils. Only other "intrinsic" evils are even going to be comparable to these. For example, it may happen that one candidate is against abortion but for euthanasia and another is against euthasia but for abortion. As such, one may have proportionate reason to vote for a candidate even though that candidate supports an intrinsic evil.

No simple sum of "extrinsic" things, however good, are ever going to be "proportionate" to an intrinsic evil for such people. And I think that, for Ratzinger, neither war nor the death penalty (most other things probably don't come close) are considered intrinsically evil. So "proportionate reasons" may mean simply "pro-life reasons."

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