Cleveland Catholic Bishop Edward Malesic urged Christians to vote to oppose the “intrinsic evil of abortion,” which has claimed 62 million unborn babies’ lives in America.
WLTX News 19 reports Malesic wrote a letter to Catholics in his diocese Wednesday advising them about the upcoming election.
While the bishop said Catholics should not be “single-issue” voters, he emphasized that other issues “flow from and are rooted in the fundamental right to life itself,” according to the report.
“Our bishops have said, and I agree with them, that ‘the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family and because of the number of lives destroyed,’” Malesic wrote. “The consistent teaching of the Church regarding the intrinsic evil of abortion seeks to secure all other rights as well.”
He said abortion should be an issue of “paramount” importance to voters. It destroys more lives annually than any other cause. Though abortion rates have been dropping, there still are about 900,000 in the U.S. each year.
Quoting the late Pope John Paul II, Malesic continued, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights … is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”
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The bishop did not support any candidates or political party. He encouraged voters to base their decisions on a well-formed conscience and to develop their conscience through prayer, the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church, according to the report.
“This well-formed conscience seeks to understand the truth and allows itself to be guided by the Holy Spirit. A well-formed conscience is devoted to doing God’s will more than it is to supporting any particular political party,” he wrote.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also is encouraging Catholics to prioritize protections for unborn babies when they vote in November.
“The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed,” their voter’s guide states.
The two major presidential candidates have opposite views about abortion.
Joe Biden and the Democratic Party support abortions without restriction and want to force taxpayers to pay for them. Biden said he plans to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and appoint more Supreme Court justices who will support abortion on demand. Biden also said he would fight to end the Hyde Amendment and force taxpayers to pay for elective abortions – which could lead to 60,000 more unborn babies’ deaths to abortion each year.
