Pro-Life Voters Must Pick Lesser of Two Evils—That's Kamala Harris

Flying back from his visit to Southeast Asia earlier this month, Pope Francis was asked about the upcoming presidential election in the United States.

Pope Francis' advice was succinct: "You must vote" and choose "the lesser evil."

"Who is the lesser evil," the pontiff asked, "the lady or that gentleman? I don't know. Each person must think and decide according to their conscience."

The pope's response captured the dilemma faced by many American Catholics and others who struggle with moral questions about our presidential candidates.

As a Catholic, pro-life Democrat, I struggle with this dilemma myself, and I'm sure many moderate Republicans and Independents are in the same boat.

Former president Donald Trump is objectionable for a host of immoral policies as well as for his personal lack of character. Still, Vice President Kamala Harris is pro-choice, and the life of the unborn is no small matter.

Conscience, properly understood, is never a momentary whim. It is a well-formed moral compass and must be informed by comprehensive consideration of all that's at stake.

In his brief airplane remarks, Pope Francis made clear that the choice did not come down to a single issue.

A candidate's position on abortion must be weighed along with their position on, for example, immigration.

In a 2018 pastoral letter to Catholics across the globe, Pope Francis spoke more to this point. He said there that we must recognize the sacredness of the life of the unborn, yet:

Equally sacred...are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.

In good conscience, we must hold the lives of the unborn, the migrants, the poor, the abandoned, the elderly, and those needing health care as equally sacred.

So too the lives of children at risk of gun violence in schools, the lives of those desperate for affordable housing, the lives of workers struggling for a living wage and, yes, the life of the planet.

Beyond these many instances of the sacredness of life, Catholic teachings instruct the faithful to promote the common good of all over the interests of the few, to work for the social harmony of solidarity, to recognize the equal dignity of all, and thereby to advance the cause of justice wherever that dignity is compromised by bias or discrimination, to be truthful and merciful, and to be peacemakers at home and abroad.

For Catholics, a well-formed conscience must be enlightened by all these teachings.

Like many American Catholics, I take seriously Pope Francis' charge that we should vote according to our consciences as informed by the fullness of Church teachings.

I am devout in my faith and have always valued the enlightenment it brings to my engagement in our country's political life.

Let me say here, then, with a clear conscience: as an American and as a pro-life Catholic, I will vote for Kamala Harris.

I cannot and do not support her pro-choice policies, but so much of the rest of her vision for the future of the United States resonates with the Church teachings that continue to shape my conscience.

That said, I am also voting for her because former president Trump represents so much that is contrary to my conscience. His character is abhorrent. The hatred and division he stokes are incompatible with my understanding of the Christian faith. But, even beyond his personal moral failings, the broad sweep of his policies and positions, with few exceptions, are so profoundly at odds with my Church's teachings that I must, in good conscience, reject not only the man but his very troubling platform.

As the pope instructs, November's vote is a matter of conscience. My conscience is clear.

Dr. Stephen Schneck is a political philosopher who taught at the Catholic University of America for 30 years. While there, he was the founder and director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies.

The views expressed in this are the writer's own.