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archdiocese-of-miami-voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils


During his flight from Singapore to Rome - after his whirlwind pastoral visit to countries in Asia and Oceania - Pope Francis was asked by a CBS News journalist what advice he would give to Catholic voters in the upcoming U.S. presidential election when “faced with a candidate who supports ending a pregnancy and another who wants to deport 11 million migrants?”

Pope Francis clearly and courageously responded, “Both are against life: the one that throws out migrants and the one that kills children. Both are against life. I can’t decide; I’m not American and won’t go to vote there. But let it be clear: denying migrants the ability to work and receive hospitality is a sin, a grave sin.”

Reflecting on his visit to the Mexico-U.S. border Pope Francis said, “I celebrated Mass at the border, near the diocese of El Paso. There were many shoes from migrants, who ended poorly there. Today, there is a flow of migration within Central America, and many times they are treated like slaves because people take advantage of the situation. Migration is a right, and it was already present in Sacred Scripture and in the Old Testament. The stranger, the orphan, and the widow - do not forget this.”

Then to the point of abortion, the Holy Father said, “Science says that at one month after conception, all the organs of a human being are present. Everything. Having an abortion is killing a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it’s murder. The Church is not closed-minded because it forbids abortion; the Church forbids abortion because it kills. It is murder; it is murder!”

“One must choose the lesser of two evils," he said. "Who is the lesser of two evils, that lady or that gentleman, I do not know.”

And I do not know either.

And the dilemma Catholics with well-formed consciences face here gets even more difficult when we also consider the many other life issues - which we must!

Although the U.S. provides more weapons, to more nations, and thus fuels more wars than any other country, neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump plan to seriously take steps to reverse course here.
And with the most dangerous nuclear arsenal - along with the Russian Federation - neither U.S. presidential candidate is committed to multilateral nuclear disarmament.

And what about the genocide of Gazans by the Israeli government and military being fueled by American weapons? Neither Harris nor Trump have promised to end U.S. military support, and fully press for an immediate ceasefire.

As the Russia-Ukraine/NATO war continues with no end in sight, and with NATO long-range missiles now in place to strike deep into Russia - the world is closer than most people realize to nuclear Armageddon. Yet again, neither Harris nor Trump have expressed a solid plan to quickly negotiate a peaceful exit ramp.

According to the World Food Program 42 million people in 45 countries are on the brink of starvation. And yet the U.S. gives less than 1% of its annual national budget for international anti-poverty/anti-hunger relief. Again, neither Harris nor Trump have voiced a commitment to drastically increase international aid to the poor and end world hunger.

And sadly again, neither presidential candidate has seriously expressed warning about the scientifically based global threat of climate change and what bold actions she or he plans to take to move from global warming fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) to clean sun, wind, geo-thermal and wave energy.

There are many other life issues that neither presidential candidate has addressed in a way that is compatible with the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.

I long and pray for the day when people in the U.S., as well as people of all nations, will not be faced with the stark choice of having to “choose the lesser of two evils.” When instead, the tough choice will be determining who is best between two wonderfully, highly moral, consistently life-affirming, peacemaking political candidates!

Comments from readers

concepcion prado - 11/07/2024 09:00 PM
Gracias muy buena reflexion la vida se respeta desde la concepcion hasta el final, muy de acuerdo con el Papa Francisco.bendiciones
Angela De Marco Manzi - 11/05/2024 11:25 AM
I am disappointed by the equivocation on the part of both the Holy Father and Mr. Magilano. The citizens of the United States are the first and the most generous of givers in any crisis. To say that we arresting in our giving is just not true. To echo the statement of Ms Huskins, illegal immigration is not the same as migration of peoples. My grandparents were immigrants. They came here legally. They learned the language. Their children, both male and female, were proud service members and three of them served active duty in World War II. Please spare us the Americans are bad people language. I am tired of hearing it.
Maria Wadsworth - 11/04/2024 07:55 PM
I am disappointed and surprised you cannot decide the lesser of these two evils You must have missed the AB Wenski’s campaign to vote no on Amendment 4. Did you watch the videos? Heard Archbishop Wenski appeal? Abortion is an intrinsic evil and we cannot support a candidate who supports abortion according the USCCB Faithful Citizenship paragraph number 42 You missed that too. Actually, never has it been easier to decide the lesser of two evils I am praying for the defeat of Amendment 4 and all the ProAbortion candidates! Let’s make sure we all vote ProLife! Maria Wadsworth Matthew 19:36
Bernardo Garcia-Granda - 11/04/2024 04:19 PM
When the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and our Archbishop Wenski are strongly encouraging us all to vote against the proposed amendment 4 to the Florida constitution, I have no doubts that abortion is the greater of the two evils. Only one candidate appointed the necessary Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The other candidate is in favor of signing a bill to “restore reproductive rights,”if passed by congress. As far as our immigration problems, I agree that congress needs to act sooner rather than later.
Madelyn Ocasio - 11/04/2024 03:49 PM
Declaration of Independence ("DoI") states our first right is to LIFE. Without LIFE we cannot accomplish anything else. We need to protect the Unborn from laws that kill innocent LIFE and abortion laws just do that. Our DoI: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Read well about the Government, we have gone astray from from our DoI.
Carlos Garcia-Larrieu - 11/04/2024 02:08 PM
Abortion is terminal migration is temporary since you could try again in the same or different country. No debate the lesser is the one that does not stand for abortion. Remember the Catholic Church is urging all Catholics to vote NO on abortion proposition.
Valli Leone - 11/04/2024 12:41 PM
Thank you so much, dear Tony, for this insightful article. You always get it right, in my opinion. In these confusing and often difficult times, the truth is often hidden away; but, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, I am sure that nothing is hidden that will not be revealed. He sets us free to make good, holy, merciful and just decisions. I am so grateful to know that our Archdiocese opens the door for thinkers and writers like you, my brother. Together we pray that tomorrow’s elections will bring wisdom, peace and unity to our churches, families, our State and the Nation. Come, Holy Spirit; Rain down your love on your people. We all serve the one God who is our Everlasting Candidate.. Jesus never fails! 🔆❤️🔆
Ursula Huskins - 11/04/2024 11:39 AM
Respectfully, migration of peoples, and illegal immigration are two entirely different things.
Esther - 11/04/2024 11:36 AM
I am an immigrant who fled Cuba, and though I respect Pope Francis and Mr. Magliano's dialogue, I profoundly disagree that "we don't know" whether abortion or a broken immigration system is the greater evil. Murder is undeniably one of the gravest wrongs. As Pope Francis and Mr. Magliano stated, abortion terminates a vulnerable human life. Abortion is clearly the greater evil because it directly results in the killing of a human being and often causes mental and physical harm to the mother. Perhaps, instead of funneling our taxpayer dollars into Planned Parenthood, we should use it to fix a broken immigration system.
claudemir de carvalho - 11/04/2024 11:25 AM
Obrigado pelas reflexões e conteúdos teologiocos relevantes Deus nos abençoe, Salve maria !

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