A Guide for Participation in Democracy?

From our previous postings on the Catholic voter and from e-mail correspondence with blog readers it is becoming clear to me that Bishop Sheridan and Archbishop Valzny do not go far enough in developing the principles upon which they base their divergent conclusions.

To Bishop Sheridan, one might reasonably ask: If a well formed conscience would forbid me from voting for a pro-choice candidate, then what about a pro-death penalty candidate, at least where the candidate advocates the death penalty in cases that clearly contravene Church teaching? If not, please explain to me the difference. Why is one case an illicit cooperation with evil while the other case is licit? And, does moral theology require me to sit out of an election if each of the candidates holds positions against the moral law? Or, is sitting out itself an act of cooperating with evil? If I should participate, how do I navigate between candidates each of whom has morally flawed positions?

To Archbishop Vlazny, one might reasonable ask: Isn’t abortion different from questions of war and peace, human rights and economic justice. The Church teaches that formulating policy with respect to the latter require prudential judgment and that a range of options are legitimate. With respect to abortion, however, no such discretionary leeway exists. Therefore, what is the justification for putting these issues seemingly on the same plane when making a voting decision? Isn’t abortion different from these other questions in another way? The right to life is the first and most fundamental human right and it is the state’s duty to protect the most defenseless and innocent of all human life. Therefore, shouldn’t the abortion issue trump these other issues?

What is needed at a practical level, IMHO, is a Catholic voter’s guide(s) (plural because of the debate that will ensue) that goes beyond the issues and contains a theoretical account of the difference between immediate and mediate/ illicit and licit material cooperation with evil in the political life of the citizen. In this way, the Catholic voter can develop a more nuanced and sophisticated approach to voting that will help them make voting decisions when faced with candidates who all have (at least in the eyes of the voter) morally flawed positions.

An excellent recent guide is the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith's Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding The Participation of Catholics in the Political Life. Does anyone know of any other well developed resources? Although this might fit more properly within the province of moral theology and philosophy, it seems to me that this is also the proper subject for the development of Catholic legal (and political) theory.