Although it may not be a question on the ballot Nov. 4, Catholics have a choice to make: to vote in accordance with the Church's values or not?

According to the Web site for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, usscb.org, Catholic voters should pay attention to issues that have moral implications within the Church, such as abortion and gay marriage. The USCCB has published a guide to Faithful Citizenship, which includes a guide for political decisions.

While the guide to Faithful Citizenship focuses on a few issues, the political scene and voting process is more complex than the guide may let on, said Bro. Thomas Wendorf, English professor and Marianist.

"The picture is more complicated than that," Wendorf said. "There are a number of morally serious issues to consider in electing candidates, including attention to the poor and availability of adequate health care."

The USCCB's guide to Faithful Citizenship states that since voting for certain issues is inherently wrong, the decision is left up to local bishops to deny public supporters of these rights to be denied the Eucharist.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Joe Biden are both Catholics in the political arena who support abortion rights and have been denied the Eucharist at some point in time, said Fr. John Putka, political science professor and Marianist.

"[A key issue in the election is] the ongoing tragedy of over 4,000 abortions per day," Putka said. "The reversal of Roe v. Wade could be as close as one appointment to the Supreme Court, and the next president will probably be in a position to make one or more appointments. This is the greatest moral and political issue since slavery...The basic challenge to these politicians is: what is more important to you, being a faithful Catholic or being a supporter of legal abortion?

"Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have both emphasized that the issues of abortion and euthanasia, as inherently evil, are key issues and that a Catholic should not support candidates who accept them as a matter of law. There are obviously many other issues of great concern to the Church, but they do not, either individually or collectively, outrank abortion and euthanasia as the major issues. That being said, these issues also deserve extensive consideration and debate as part of the political process."

Putka said UD students should take an active stance in researching the Catholic Church's viewpoint on issues and figure out which are important to them.

"UD students and youth in general are the future of our country, and should focus on developing a clear, Catholic perspective on the issues of our time." Putka said. "It is impossible to separate the political from the moral, thus it is essential to develop and use an informed Catholic conscience, not only in elections but also in their daily lives."

The USCCB guide for Faithful Citizenship can be found at usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship.