Catholic Politics: Mortal and Venial Issues

The mortal/venial polarity is a familiar one for Catholics. A mortal sin, of course, is a grave, lethal offense that kills the life of God in the soul; a venial one is slight, pardonable, and harms without destroying the life of God in the soul. With regard to the Church's social teaching and political judgment this distinction may be helpful. Here "venial" might refer to issues about which there is no defined Church teaching, which allow for a diversity or catholicity of opinions, in which essential evil is not engaged, in which prudential judgment, involving subjectivity and indeterminacy, is involved. We Catholic can, will and must disagree and argue about these issues without breaking the bond of love, faith and truth that unites us. These include most political and economic issues: immigration, health care, taxation, size of government, gun control, global warming, warfare and the death penalty. There are, however, a very few issues about which the Catholic view is absolutely clear, about which all of us must agree, about which prudential calculation and subjective values do not pertain. In the current situation there are precisely three such mortal issues: the protection of innocent life, the sanctity of marriage and family, and religious liberty. A Catholic vote for the party of abortion, gay marriage and mandatory financing of contraception is a mortal act: it strikes a dagger in the heart of the Church, it kills the sanctifying life we share, it tears apart the Body of Christ.