Maine bishop: Catholics cannot justify voting for a candidate who opposes Church teaching

October 26, 2012

Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, who also serves as apostolic administrator of his former Diocese of Portland (Maine), has issued a statement on the upcoming election, in which Maine voters will decide whether to permit same-sex marriage.

“On Tuesday, November 6, Maine citizens have the right and obligation to cast their votes for federal, state and local candidates for office, as well as to make decisions on various referendum issues, including the referendum that would attempt to redefine marriage as something other than the union of one man and one woman open to children,” he said.

Bishop Malone added:

As Catholics, we do not scrutinize a candidate’s positions or other issues within a vacuum, but within the context of an educated conscience formed through scripture and the teachings of the faith. For us, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death is non-negotiable; euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are never to be sanctioned; embryonic stem cell research and experimentation are considered nothing short of the taking of human life; marriage between a man and a woman must be valued and protected as the foundation of family and society; religious freedom must always be protected, and the care and nurturing of the poor is not simply a kind act, but a societal obligation …

A Catholic whose conscience has been properly formed by scripture and Church teaching cannot justify a vote for a candidate or referendum question that opposes the teachings of the Church. The definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, open to the birth of children, is a matter of established Catholic doctrine. Any Catholic who supports a redefinition of marriage—or so called “same-sex marriage”—is unfaithful to Catholic doctrine. The group calling itself ‘Catholics for Marriage Equality’ does not speak for the Catholic Church, any more than does ‘Catholics for a Free Choice’, another dissident group that promotes so-called ‘abortion rights’. Faithful Catholics will give no credence to either.

Vote your faith on November 6.

 

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Further information:

• Statement From Bishop Richard J. Malone On The Election (Diocese of Portland)
• Former Maine bishop says voting for gay marriage ‘unfaithful to Catholic doctrine’ (Bangor Daily News)