For Catholics, priests are a kind of hero (celibacy, poverty, obedience).

One of my favorite priests and I were having a nice conversation until I heard something like the following: “I am not sure Nick is pro-life enough. I pride myself on just voting the life issue and I never vote for someone not 100% pro-life.”

I discussed the issue carefully, and reflected my understanding that, while U.S. Congressional candidate Nick Begich is not interested in getting the police involved to protect the child at the moment of conception, he is one of the most pro-life major candidates that Alaska has ever had run for federal office.

But the conversation didn’t sit well with me. There was something wrong with my favorite priest’s position. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized how wrong he may be. While we must never remove the core Christian principle that we are in the world but not of the world, an overly simplified view on life and politics disagrees with God’s creation and lacks wisdom.

I think the priest believed that he should only walk among the angels, while this world fends for itself as he detaches.

We are not called upon in this world to determine the perfect and the evil, only the good.

This is my response to my hero – my priest.

Can we in good conscience remove our vote for what is best, and only engage with what is perfect?
Donald Trump is not exactly 100% pro-life. He had good advisers on the issue and moved a lot, but he remains less than 100% pro-life. However, he was wise enough to appoint two Catholic justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, who then helped pass the single-most pro-life decision in American history – overturning Roe V Wade.

Donald Trump is not 100% pro-life. The majority of U.S. senators who voted to confirm Trump’s picks for the Supreme Court were not 100% pro-life. The majority of the country is not 100% pro-life, and it is time to stop purist nonsense.

If we think our job is to engage only when candidates are perfect, we become a tool for the left. Jesus isn’t a candidate in this election.

To believe that God gave us a world where wisdom and prudence only require our engagement when our choices include perfection, is to deeply misunderstand God.

It is foolish to think that only perfect people can do good works.

If you think that Nick Begich, the most pro-life candidate for US House in Alaska history is not superior to Mary Peltola and her Democrats, you are dead wrong. Dead wrong with a lot of unborn children.

The solution that the originalist jurists produced was not a perfect solution either. It turned abortion decisions back to the states. It didn’t universally outlaw the horrible procedure, which terminates unborn children’s lives by the tens of millions in America. Nevertheless, does anyone mistake that overturning Roe was a win for pro-life states, which now have the ability to protect unborn children? Planned Parenthood, Mary Peltola, the Democrats and the left are, most certainly, not confused. They know that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a major win for pro-lifers.

We must never fail in our duty to distinguish between good and evil. We are not called upon in this world to determine the perfect and the evil, only the good.

Can we have basic standards for our vote? Yes, you must. We must never participate directly in evil (or at least must fight against it when our government is involved). The good/evil chasm is crossed when our government pays for a child to die with your money. Once you find the candidate who wants to force you to pay for the abortion with your tax dollars, you have found an evil line that your pro-life vote cannot cross.

The views expressed there are those of the author.

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