OPINION -- Last June Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote a memorandum on “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion,” to assist the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops.
Cardinal Ratzinger noted that (1) for a Catholic to vote for a candidate because the candidate favors abortion is so sinful as to render that Catholic unfit to receive Communion, but (2) voting for a pro-abortion candidate despite that candidate’s support of abortion is not sinful, if “proportionate reasons” justify voting for that candidate.
Unfortunately, Catholic News Service misreported that Cardinal Ratzinger “said it is not necessarily sinful for Catholics to vote for politicians who support abortion, as long as they are voting for that candidate for other reasons."
“Other reasons” do not suffice unless they are “proportionate reasons.”
This must be stressed over and over again - and explained to those who don't quite 'get it'.
Bishop Emeritus Rene Henry Gracida of Corpus Christi, Texas, issued a valuable statement explaining “proportionate reasons”:
The explanation us here.
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