How to vote based on Catholic doctrine: A priest’s method of discernment
Father Duberley Salazar created the “Discern” method to help Catholics decide whom to vote for. The method is presented through short videos on the “Clínica del Alma” Instagram account. Salazar stresses that Christian faith has a social and political dimension and that voting should aim at the common good and Gospel values. He warns that many believers vote without a formed conscience, weakening faith’s transformative power.
4 months ago
The “Discern” method, created by Colombian priest Father Duberley Salazar, offers Catholics a step‑by‑step way to form their conscience and choose candidates in line with Scripture, the Church’s social teaching, and moral theology. The approach stresses prayer, informed research, reflection on the common good, and, when no candidate fully meets Catholic criteria, the prudent use of the “lesser‑evil” principle or a blank ballot 1 2.
The videos draw on sacred Scripture, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and moral theology, linking faith with reason, spirituality, and social responsibility 1 2.
It is presented as an ethical and spiritual compass—not a partisan manual—intended to guide Catholics toward voting that glorifies God and promotes the common good 1 2.
Vote is placed in God’s hands through prayer, reminding voters that the aim is to honor God rather than personal preference 1 2.
Voters are urged to study the political context, each candidate’s platform, and their respect for the rule of law, constitution, and democratic norms 1 2.
Subsequent videos encourage consideration of service, consistency with Christian values, listening to one’s inner voice, personal responsibility, virtuous example, edifying inspiration, and resilience 1 2.
If none fully satisfy the criteria, Catholics may choose the option that causes the least harm or aligns most closely with Christian values, following the moral teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas to “do whatever good you can, and avoid whatever evil is possible” 1 2.
In electoral systems that allow it, casting a blank ballot can be a legitimate expression of dissatisfaction, provided the act does not inadvertently favor a greater evil 1 2.
Catholic doctrine should guide all civic voting decisions
Catholic doctrine must guide a Catholic’s voting—especially by forming conscience and weighing moral goods according to Gospel truth. However, Church teaching does not reduce voting to a single automatic rule (“support Candidate X or Y”), nor does it mean bishops endorse candidates; rather, it requires careful moral discernment in light of doctrine.
The Church insists that political decisions are morally serious and should be made using a well-formed conscience that perceives the relationship among moral goods.
The U.S. bishops explain that Catholics must form conscience using the Church’s teaching, especially the four principles of Catholic social doctrine: dignity of the human person, common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity.
So the core meaning of your claim is correct: Catholic doctrine must guide civic voting decisions—not merely as optional “religious input,” but as the moral framework for judgment.
The bishops teach clearly that a Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who favors a policy promoting an intrinsically evil act (they list abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, deliberately subjecting workers/poor to subhuman living conditions, redefining marriage in ways that violate its essential meaning, and racist behavior) if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such a case, the Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.
This is the strongest point where Catholic doctrine “guides voting” in a direct and binding way: some votes are morally impermissible because of what they would mean to will and support.
Your statement says doctrine should guide voting, but it could be misread as: “Catholic doctrine automatically tells you the specific candidate to vote for.” The bishops explicitly deny that intent: they state they do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote and aim to help form consciences according to God’s truth, with the responsibility of choice resting on each individual conscience.
So Catholic doctrine guides voting through moral principles and conscience formation, not through an official candidate-by-candidate directive.
The bishops add a second nuance: a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsically evil act as an excuse for indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.
In other words, doctrine guides voting not only by saying “don’t support evil,” but also by requiring serious attention to the full moral landscape, not selective focus.
The bishops recognize that there may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position even regarding intrinsically evil acts may reasonably decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. But they stress: this permissibility is limited to truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences, nor to ignore a fundamental moral evil.
This means “Catholic doctrine guides voting” also includes the moral realism that real-world elections create dilemmas—yet doctrine still governs how those dilemmas can be resolved.
The bishops describe a further case: when all candidates promote an intrinsically evil act, the conscientious voter faces a dilemma. The voter may choose not to vote, or after careful deliberation, may decide to vote for the candidate seen as less likely to advance morally flawed positions and more likely to pursue authentic human goods.
They also say these decisions must be guided by the principle that not all issues have the same moral weight, and that opposing policies promoting intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on conscience and action.
The bishops emphasize that political choices are complex and require a well-formed conscience aided by prudence. They say conscience begins with outright opposition to laws/policies that violate human life or weaken its protection, and that those who knowingly, willingly, and directly support such policies cooperate with evil.
They also warn against treating Catholic teaching as a set of disconnected items: the Christian faith is an integral unity, so it is “incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine.”
On applying principles to particular policies (they mention armed conflict, housing, health care, immigration, etc.), the bishops say prudential judgment is needed. They also urge Catholics to listen carefully to Church teachers; however, they distinguish universal moral teachings from bishops’ specific judgments/recommendations, noting these do not carry the same moral authority as universal moral teachings.
Yes. Catholic teaching regards civic participation as honorable when ordered to the common good. For example, an 1888 teaching preserved in the Enchiridion Symbolorum states that engaging in public administration is honorable, the Church approves of contributing one’s services to the common interest, and prefers that governance be constituted without injury—especially preserving the rights of the Church.