More “Republicatholic” hypocrisy, courtesy of Frank Pavone

The stated position of Catholic groups who are tied to the Republican party (Catholic Answers, Priests for Life, One Nation Under God, etc. etc.) is clear: Catholics are obligated to vote for pro-life/anti-abortion candidates (typically Republicans) and may not vote for pro-choice/pro-abortion candidates (typically Democrats).

I was stunned today to read an elaboration on—really an exception to—this position from Fr. Frank Pavone, head of Priests for Life. In answering a question on what to do in the case in which the Democratic and the Republican candidates both support the “right to choose,” Pavone deals with a sub-question: what to do when the two major parties’ candidates are pro-choice, but a third party candidate is anti-abortion? His answer? You are not obligated to vote for the third party, pro-life candidate!

In this context, the question also arises as to whether one is required to vote for a third candidate who does not have a strong base of support but does have the right position. The answer is, no, you are not required to vote for this candidate. The reason is that your vote is not a canonization of a candidate. It is a transfer of power. You have to look concretely at where the power is really going to be transferred, and use your vote not to make a statement but to help bring about the most acceptable results under the circumstances.

Of course, our conscience may be telling us, “Don’t say it’s impossible to elect the candidate who doesn’t have a strong base of support.” Of course, it is possible to elect almost anyone if the necessary work is done within the necessary time. God doesn’t ask us to base our choices on “the possibility of miracles,” but rather on solid human reason. The point is that if there’s a relatively unknown but excellent candidate, the time to begin building up support for that person’s candidacy is several years before the election, not several months. What you have to ask as Election Day draws near is whether your vote is needed to keep the worse candidate (of the two, less acceptable but more realistic choices) out of office.

As if the hypocrisy of these Catholic groups was not clear enough, it should be even more clear now. These Catholics are beholden to the two-party system in the United States, and blatantly choosing to be the chaplain of the Republican Party.