{"id":2258,"date":"2008-01-29T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-29T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/is-huckabee-the-most-catholic-candidate-on-the-ballot.html"},"modified":"2008-01-29T08:20:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-29T08:20:00","slug":"is-huckabee-the-most-catholic-candidate-on-the-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/is-huckabee-the-most-catholic-candidate-on-the-ballot.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Huckabee the most Catholic candidate on the ballot?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s the provocative question at the heart of this essay <\/a> by Robert Stackpole, STD, from Catholic Online:<\/p>\n

Catholic voters find themselves just as bewildered as other Americans this election year.<\/p>\n

Faced with a more colourful line-up of candidates touting a wider array of viewpoints than ever before, an unprecedented number of voters remain undecided.<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, the race for the White House pits the first viable African-American candidate against the first viable female candidate, while the Republican field includes a bona-fide war hero running against a former Baptist preacher, a multi-millionaire business executive, a prime-time TV actor, and a guy who likes to be called \u201cAmerica\u2019s Mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time around, however, Catholics have been given extra-help in making wise choices at the ballot box. In a recent document entitled \u201cForming Consciences for Faithful citizenship\u201d (2007), the US Conference of Catholic Bishops provided the faithful with a voter\u2019s guide that can help them exercise their democratic responsibilities in accordance with the Church\u2019s social teachings.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Bishops of the Church offer no detailed social program; they claim no expertise in the finer points of economics or foreign policy. What they do provide, however, is an outline of general moral and social principles, clearly laid out and prioritized in a way that can enable Catholics \u2014 and, indeed, all people of good will\u2014to apply those principles to the great issues of the day.<\/p>\n

Here is a salutary exercise for every Catholic who wants to cast a well-informed vote this year: go to each candidate\u2019s website, and read over their public statements of where they stand on the issues. Then, immediately after that, read the Bishops\u2019 statement on \u201cFaithful Citizenship.\u201d Compare and contrast what you find.<\/p>\n

<\/a>When this exercise is done fairly and without prejudice, many Catholics will be surprised to discover that the presidential candidate whose viewpoints seem most \u201cin sync\u201d with the Church\u2019s guidance is none other than the most devout Evangelical in the race: Mike Huckabee.<\/p>\n

Huckabee has advertised himself during this presidential election as a \u201cChristian [that is, Evangelical Christian] leader,\u201d whose faith \u201cnot only informs me, it defines me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then how could he be the most \u201cCatholic\u201d candidate on the ballot?<\/p>\n

If this comes as a shock to many Catholics, it probably says more about our lack of knowledge of our own heritage of social teaching, and more about our ignorance of the depth and breadth of American Evangelicalism, than it does about Gov. Huckabee himself.<\/p>\n

The Catholic Bishops make it very clear in \u201cFaithful Citizenship\u201d that not all issues facing Americans today are of equal value. In section 37 of their document they write: \u201cIn making decisions, it is essential for Catholics to be guided by a well-formed conscience that recognizes that all issues do not carry the same moral weight,\u201d and they specifically emphasize \u201cthe special claim on our consciences and actions\u201d of \u201cthe moral obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts.\u201d Section 42 is particularly striking:<\/p>\n

As Catholics, we are not single issue voters. A candidate\u2019s position on a single issue is not sufficient grounds for a voter\u2019s support. Yet a candidate\u2019s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil such as support for legal abortion or racism may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.<\/p>\n

The Bishops ask us above all to apply a \u201cconsistent ethic of life\u201d to our voting decisions. First of all, they highlight \u2018The Right to Life and the Dignity of the Human Person,\u201d and second, the \u201cCall to Family, Community, and Participation: \u201cThe family–based on a marriage between a man and a woman–is the first and fundamental unit of society \u2026 It should be defended and strengthened, not redefined or undermined by permitting same sex unions or other distortions of marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do the candidates\u2019 websites and public statements stack up against these principles and priorities? <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out the rest<\/a> for the answer to that and other questions. It’s food for thought during this sometimes confusing and confounding election cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That’s the provocative question at the heart of this essay by Robert Stackpole, STD, from Catholic Online: Catholic voters find themselves just as bewildered as other Americans this election year. Faced with a more colourful line-up of candidates touting a wider array of viewpoints than ever before, an unprecedented number of voters remain undecided. On…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-and-politicians"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Huckabee the most Catholic candidate on the ballot? - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/01\/is-huckabee-the-most-catholic-candidate-on-the-ballot.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Huckabee the most Catholic candidate on the ballot? - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That’s the provocative question at the heart of this essay by Robert Stackpole, STD, from Catholic Online: Catholic voters find themselves just as bewildered as other Americans this election year. 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