Catholics and the U.S. Presidential Elections: Donald Trump Clearly is the Choice From a Catholic Perspective, by Roberto de Mattei

By Roberto de Mattei, OnePeterFive, 8/29/2024

There is a Catholic doctrine of the lesser evil that can be summarized in these terms:

1. One can never positively and directly commit even the slightest evil;

2. to avoid a greater evil, one may tolerate a lesser evil committed by others, provided one does not approve of it as such and remembers the existence of a greater good to strive for.

This doctrine is fundamental for orientation in a confused age in which the notion of the principle has been lost: “Bonum ex integra causa, malum ex quocumque defectu”(St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-IIae, q. 18, a. 4 ad 3)

In light of this principle, a Catholic can never vote for or approve an abortion law, even a minimal one, but he or she can vote for a candidate who is not an integral anti-abortionist.  That is why it is permissible for an American Catholic to vote for Donald Trump, whose positions on abortion, as Edward Feser notes, leave much to be desired. …

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