ATLANTA, September 17, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “There’s no debate about abortion. It is intrinsically evil.” So says John F. Donoghue Archbishop of Atlanta in an interview on his latest pastoral letter.
The letter was issued in the wake of the recalling of the USCCB voters’ guide. Many Catholics and pro-life organizations had criticized the guide because of its handling of the precedence of life issues. Austin Ruse, president of Culture of Life Foundation, wrote a scathing critique of the US bishops’ guide saying, “some candidates have been able to show that even though they support abortion they still merit the votes of faithful Catholics because they happen to be good – that is to say liberal – on gun control, the environment, immigration, and the minimum wage.”
Ruse added that recently more and more bishops are making unequivocally Catholic statements on abortion. The Archbishop of Atlanta now adds himself to the list by making clear that Catholics may not leave their faith at the door of the polling station on election day. The letter, titled “On Conscientious Voting” was published in the diocesan newspaper and has already been posted to the diocesan website. Archbishop Donoghue started with the straightforward declaration that “The Church holds her members to acceptance, complete acceptance of her teaching on matters of faith and morals.”
The waters have recently been further muddied when various Catholic priests and bishops declared that Cardinal Ratzinger had said a Catholic may vote for a pro-abortion politician as long as it was not for purpose of supporting his abortion stance. However, Archbishop Donoghue says unequivocally, “to vote for a candidate because he favors abortion is formal cooperation in his evil political acts.”
In an effort to correct the confusion Donoghue adds – quoting a theological consultant to EWTN, the faithful Catholic television network – “to vote for someone in order to limit…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.”
Echoing recent statements from Archbishop Burke of St. Louis, Archbishop Donoghue said, “You have an erroneous conscience if you think there is some case in which you can vote for a pro-abortion candidate. You’re wrong as far as church teaching is concerned.”
To read Archbishop Donoghue’s letter: https://www.archatl.com/archbishops/donoghue/20040916.html Atlanta Journal Constitution coverage: (registration may be required) https://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/election/0904georgia/17archbishop.html