I don’t see why not.
Catholics who are serious about the social teachings of their church–all of it–do not have a candidate in this race.
Ted Cruz is the anti-abortion and traditional marriage candidate, but he also wants to carpet-bomb some people (this usually means innocent women and children) and “annihilate” others.
Conservative Catholics like Robert George have to come down somewhere, even if their candidate is imperfect. Since abortion, marriage, and religious liberty are the most pressing issues of the day for conservative Catholics, it makes sense that they will back Cruz.
But as Anthony Annett wonders at dotCommonweal, is the conservative Catholic support of Cruz based on Catholic social teaching or constitutional originalism? Here is a taste of his post:
A group of prominent Catholics, led by Robbie George, has decided to endorse Ted Cruz for president. The case they make is a weak one. Instead of appealing to the principles of Catholic social teaching, they appeal to the American secular constitutional order. “[Cruz] will foster a culture, from the top down, that honors the Constitution,” says George. No word about a culture than honors the gospel or the common good.
How should we judge this endorsement, or indeed, any Catholic discernment of current political choices? I would argue that the best yardstick is Pope Francis’s address to Congress last September. More than anything else, this speech lays out the pope’s views on the moral principles that should animate American political life and policy choices at this particular moment in history.
Fair enough, Tom.
This seems like a selective view of Catholic social teaching, Jimmy. Cruz does take traditional Catholic positions on marriage and abortion. Yes, he is weak on the things that matter to you, but I would imagine Francis would say Hillary is also weak when measured by Catholic social teaching.
He would have to learn the Constitution in order to protect it.
A group of prominent Catholics, led by Robbie George, has decided to endorse Ted Cruz for president. The case they make is a weak one. Instead of appealing to the principles of Catholic social teaching, they appeal to the American secular constitutional order. “[Cruz] will foster a culture, from the top down, that honors the Constitution,” says George. No word about a culture than honors the gospel or the common good.
Dishonest and disgraceful selective editing by Arnett. In his full remarks, Dr. George says:
https://www.tedcruz.org/news/dr-robert-george-endorses-ted-cruz-president/
The words of the Holy Father near the end of that address: “A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.”
Ted Cruz is none of that. As a Roman Catholic I will not support him because his version of Christianity is often at odds with Catholic Church teachings. Hilary Clinton is closer to Catholic teaching (and yes, that does reveal a pretty big gap doesn’t it?) than Ted Cruz is.