"Conscientious Voting" Seeking Understanding of Others

I attended a talk entitled "Conscientious Voting" given by Father George Welzbacher at St. Agnes Church in St. Paul on Monday, October 25th. I was curious to see how another Catholic parish would handle the topic so thoughtfully done in the ForeSight 20/20 video promoted by our parish. When I arrived and saw a parking lot filled with cars carrying Bush/Cheney stickers, I suspected I was in for a different angle. I decided to keep my Kerry button in my pocket in hopes that I might be able to ask some questions that could lead to thoughtful discourse.

After reciting the "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be" prayers, Fr. Welzbacher began his talk by asking what is most important to us. He provided his own answer by saying that for a Christian that would have to be getting to heaven and avoiding the fires of hell. He then began a 1 1/2 hour sermon on the two topics he felt are of primary importance in this election - abortion and embryonic stem cell research. He quoted extensively from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, scripture (mostly Old Testament), and various papal writings that both decried murder and explained how grievous a sin it is, and supported his assertion that both abortion and embryonic stem cell research are synonomous with murder.

Father Welzbacher never mentioned a particular candidate or party although he did directly quote Kerry's explanation for his position on abortion from a recent debate. Kerry stated that he couldn't impose his religious views on others who don't share them since he would be representing the whole nation as president.  Fr. Welzbacher claimed this position was invalid after citing literature that he asserted requires imposition of certain beliefs on others who don't share them. He also interpreted Cardinal Ratzinger's statement: "When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favour of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons" as applying only to cases in which two opposing candidates are both either prolife or prochoice. In those cases he feels we should normally always vote for the one with stronger prolife views but may, in very rare circumstances, consider other issues.

I came away with an implied but strong message of: "If you vote for a prochoice candidate over a prolife candidate, you're going straight to hell". I hoped to inject some questions such as those the Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published in a NetLet I submitted to them (http://www.startribune.com/stories/563/5042569.html) entitled "Questions for prolife voters". After his talk, Fr. Welzbacher stated that since this topic is so controversial and he was afraid he might say something that could endanger the church's tax exempt status, he refused to take any questions.

Paul Oman is a software engineer and compulsive barefoot waterskier who skis in shows with the Twin City River Rats. In winter, Paul plays hockey and sings in St. Joan's choir. He hosts some events with the St. Joan Singles group and lives in Brooklyn Center.

In my opinion, Fr. Welzbacher's refusal of any dialogue may doom some of his parishioners to a lack of understanding of the issues today and how they relate to God’s wisdom. Perhaps he thinks that is what's best for them or perhaps he feels that dialogue is unnecessary as there is no other valid thought. While I came away understanding Fr. Welzbacher's viewpoint, I feel true understanding requires deeper discussion and analysis. The richness and diversity of thought I learn from was not present this evening. I feel that's unfortunate and will pray for enlightenment for our world and our Church.