Every presidential election cycle, we encounter the USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) voter guide. Most often, it is a useless guide provided by a great number of bishops who are obsessed about everything regarding sex, e.g. gay marriage, abortion, contraception etc, and resembles much of the same that one can find in the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025.” I have found that the misogyny that plagues the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, extremely tiresome and sinful (sexism is one of the great sins of the Catholic hierarchy), and, any teaching authority on issues of sexuality and gender undermined by decades, if not centuries, of bishops covering up the criminal sexual activity of clergy and church personnel.
We will also find all sorts of political literature by groups like MCCL (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life) and other National “Right to Life” lobbies, most of whom are only pro-birth and refuse to do anything about supporting the lives of babies that are born. Most of these groups are political entities that lack, in my opinion, any moral authority.
Pope Francis I was correct in pointing out that neither the Democrats or Republicans own the title of being pro-life; the Democrats support for abortion and the Republican refusal to support life after a baby is born. Pope Francis advises that we vote for the better of two evils. So how are we to determine which candidates represent the “better of two evils?”
Between now and the first Tuesday of November, we have much to discern.
So, for the past 44 years I have developed my own voting guide that I take into the voting booth as I cast my votes for those running for public offices. My conscience is well formed when I cast my votes, and the values of the Founders of our nation and the Constitution of the United States always in the forefront. Note: The Founders were clear that the United States was created as a “secular” nation in which the practice of ALL religions are welcome, but that no one religion and its doctrines and practices dominate or are imposed on the citizens of the United States.
For my voting guide, I turn to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31 to 46.
The Judgment of the Nations. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25, 31-46, Authors, Various. New American Bible Revised Edition)
I vote for the candidate that best represents the values and mandates that Jesus emphasizes here, and in his commandment to love as he loved.
Note, that in no place in the scripture above, that Jesus says there are any exceptions for whom we are responsible. In other words, Jesus does not exclude those who are “woke”, those who are transgender, those who are LGBTQ+, those who are Haitian or immigrants from other trump labeled “shithole nations,” those who are homeless, mentally ill, unemployed, those who disabled physically or developmentally, those of other world cultures or religions, those who are not of white, European heritage. No, Jesus’ requires us to be all inclusive in our care for others. Even though Jesus was a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew, living in an occupied nation by the Imperial Roman Army and ruled by Roman authorities, Jesus also included these foreign occupiers in those for whom his disciples must care and love, and demonstrated such by curing the servant of a Roman centurion (Luke 7:1-10), and the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24–30 and Matthew 15:21–28) and emphasized in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
And, if one needs a Hebrew Testament passage to back up what Jesus is mandating here, I refer to the following from the first chapter of Isaiah:
What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs, and goats I find no pleasure. When you come to appear before me, who asks these things of you? Trample my courts no more! To bring offerings is useless; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath, calling assemblies— festive convocations with wickedness— these I cannot bear. Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; But if you refuse and resist, you shall be eaten by the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken! (Isaiah 1:11-20, Authors, Various. New American Bible Revised Edition)
How does all of this line up with the rhetoric from the USCCB voter guide, or the MCCL voting guide, right wing religious groups, and/or organizations the Heritage Foundation, and other Fascist ideologies, vigilantes, and racists groups?
Listen to the hate-filled rhetoric of trump, vance, and all their republican surrogates nationally and in the State of Minnesota. Their vitriol makes it very clear to me as to how I will determine who is the worse of two evils and how my vote will be cast.