Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Voters Cautioned About Favoring Pro-Abortion Candidates
Voters Cautioned About Favoring Pro-Abortion Candidates
Atlanta Archbishop Warns of Formal Cooperation
ATLANTA, Georgia, SEPT. 20, 2004 (Zenit.org)
Atlanta Archbishop Warns of Formal Cooperation
ATLANTA, Georgia, SEPT. 20, 2004 (Zenit.org)
[...]
"In moral theology," he continued, "there are two kinds of cooperation involved in this question, and they break down as follows:
"Formal cooperation is that degree of cooperation in which my will embraces the evil object of another's will. Thus, to vote for a candidate because he favors abortion is formal cooperation in his evil political acts. However, to vote for someone in order to limit a greater evil, that is, to restrict in so far as possible the evil that another candidate might do if elected, is to have a good purpose in voting.
"The voter's will has as its object this limitation of evil and not the evil which the imperfect politician might do in his less than perfect adherence to Catholic moral principles. Such cooperation is called material, and is permitted for a serious reason, such as preventing the election of a worse candidate."
[...]
"In moral theology," he continued, "there are two kinds of cooperation involved in this question, and they break down as follows:
"Formal cooperation is that degree of cooperation in which my will embraces the evil object of another's will. Thus, to vote for a candidate because he favors abortion is formal cooperation in his evil political acts. However, to vote for someone in order to limit a greater evil, that is, to restrict in so far as possible the evil that another candidate might do if elected, is to have a good purpose in voting.
"The voter's will has as its object this limitation of evil and not the evil which the imperfect politician might do in his less than perfect adherence to Catholic moral principles. Such cooperation is called material, and is permitted for a serious reason, such as preventing the election of a worse candidate."
[...]
[Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, released a statement called "On Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion]
"Although it dealt primarily with the obligations of bishops to deny communion to Catholic politicians in certain circumstances, it included a short note at the end addressing whether Catholics could, in good conscience, vote for candidates who supported the taking of nascent human life in the womb or lab," the archbishop wrote.
"Cardinal Ratzinger stated," he noted, "that 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 a candidate's permissive stand on abortion.'"
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"Although it dealt primarily with the obligations of bishops to deny communion to Catholic politicians in certain circumstances, it included a short note at the end addressing whether Catholics could, in good conscience, vote for candidates who supported the taking of nascent human life in the womb or lab," the archbishop wrote.
"Cardinal Ratzinger stated," he noted, "that 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 a candidate's permissive stand on abortion.'"
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