Lesser Evil
Pope Francis weighed in on the U.S. presidential race late last week, and did not seem impressed with the choices Americans have this cycle.
During a news conference while his plane was returning to Rome from a four-day tour of Asia, the Pontiff was asked what advice he would give American Catholics. He did not refer to either major party candidate by name, and noted that he was not an American and therefore had no vote.
But the Associated Press reports that Francis called both Trump and Harris out for what he termed anti-life policies on abortion and migration, and advised American Catholics to choose who they think is the “lesser evil” in the upcoming U.S. elections.
“Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ Francis said.
The Pope is apparently just figuring out what most of us know each cycle—there is no perfect candidate, and we are always choosing the lesser evil. Even diehard partisans are rarely lockstep behind their party’s nominee on everything.
Far be it from me to interpret beyond the Pope’s clear statement, but killing babies would seem to be more evil than shunning migrants, who might have somewhere else to go. But again, he did not make that determination, and regardless, it’s up to voters to each make that determination free from the interpretation of a religious leader, a pop music star, an athlete, or a guy on the radio.
Taking a deep breath, sighing in resignation, and filling in the oval on the ballot…it seems like we do it every election. I wonder if that’s just our dissatisfaction with life generally these days, always looking for more and more options whether at the grocery store or the polling place…or if we used to have better choices, up and down the ballot.
