The Catholic Voter

The perfect Catholic politician, if there could be such a thing, would be a true servant of the people he — or, indeed, she — was appointed to represent and serve.

He would be profoundly concerned with issues of social justice and with peace, among the citizens he serves and among nations. He would strongly resist elective military action, placing dialogue and negotiation before acts of belligerence. He would exercise a preferential option for the poor, and oppose unwarranted spending on armaments.

He would be, by inclination and in practice, solidly pro-life and pro-family. He would oppose abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment alike.

He would regard policies and practices that mutilate the environment as an affront to God’s creation, and take action accordingly.

He would stand up to corruption, nepotism and political deal-making. He would take the good fight to those who exploit and defraud the people by acts such as price-fixing and other forms of collusion. He would defend the right of workers to strike for a fair salary, but also safeguard the people from the effects of undue excesses in industrial actions.

He would exercise his faith within a political ministry, independent of secular ideology or party line. His private life would be a model of integrity. And he would do all that without compromising his obligations to his constituents, not all of whom may be Catholic.

Such a politician is rare, if he exists at all. Certainly, within systems of direct representation — such as those in the United States and Britain — he would find it difficult to be elected, or perhaps even to raise the requisite funds to fight an election campaign.

And because such a politician would not tolerate corruption, incompetence, mismanagement and other characteristics of the modern politician, but act with an independent sense of virtue, he would probably not be in the mainstream of popular parties—even as the members of these parties and the public cry out for ethical leaders.

Of course, no political party embraces all the policies and attributes of our ideal Catholic politician. Nevertheless, these considerations are on the agenda this year for Catholics in South Africa as they prepare to participate in the national elections on May 7.

Our feature this week on how the policies of South Africa’s political parties measure up to the teachings of the Church, according to a study by the Justice & Peace Commission of the archdiocese of Cape Town, will aid the faithful in identifying which parties are compatible with their faith, and which are not.

This is not an empirical exercise. How we vote depends on our priorities, as Catholics and as citizens.

For example, some Catholics support the African Christian Democratic Party, even if it is an imperfect choice for Catholics. The ACDP is, however, the only reasonable national option for those to whom life issues, other than capital punishment, are the sole litmus test in deciding on how to cast their vote.

Other Catholics will weigh up other issues, including those on which the teachings of the Catholic Church have no direct impact (such as fiscal matters or crime prevention), before casting their ballot.

While voting on the basis of pro-life issues alone is legitimate, it is not an act of disloyalty to the Church to also consider other policy areas. Indeed, the bishops of Southern Africa have repeatedly counselled the faithful not to be single-issue voters, nor to vote on the basis of old loyalties, but to weigh up all the running parties’ manifestos before making an informed decision.

The bishops have long followed a wise approach of staying out of party politics. While they may comment on pertinent issues to offer moral guidance, to politicians and the faithful alike, they abstain from endorsing one party over another — even if their statements on matters of public ethics can be misunderstood to suggest the contrary.

It is the task of the faithful to determine which party and which of these parties’ respective leaders, in their view, comes closest in meeting the criteria for the perfect Catholic politician.