The question in the headline on the front page article in Flyer News "Catholics have choice: to vote under Church or not?" is a bit misleading and oversimplified. It implies that the Catholic church teaches that its followers must vote only for certain candidates, which, if it were true, would disqualify the Catholic church in the U.S. as a tax exempt nonprofit organization. So, in the interest of both educating about Catholic teaching (my job) and protecting the Catholic church (my faith tradition) from political polarization, I want to strongly encourage every Catholic on this campus to read the U.S. Bishops' document "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship". What any reader will find is that the question whether "to vote in accordance with the Church's values or not?" is not nearly as black and white as it seems.

As an advocate for ending abortion on demand, my prayer is that all Catholics take this issue with utmost seriousness in their decision-making. I strongly agree with the Bishops that "The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not one issue among many. It must always be opposed" (par. 28).

In the next paragraph, the Bishops say, "Racism and other unjust discrimination, the use of the death penalty, resorting to unjust war, the use of torture, war crimes, the failure to respond to those who are suffering from hunger or lack of health care, or an unjust immigration policy are all serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act. These are not optional concerns which can be dismissed" (par. 29).

Neither major party, nor any candidate running for president, fully embraces the Church's values, since the Church values an end to all of the threats to life listed above.

Putting even more responsibility on the individual Catholic to make up his or her own mind, the Bishops go on to say, "A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil" (par. 34-35).

While the Church cannot and should not endorse particular candidates or parties, it can and often does take sides on issues. The Ohio Conference of Catholic Bishops is taking sides on two statewide ballot issues. They are urging Catholics to vote "Yes" on Issue 5 (to keep the law limiting what "payday lenders" can charge) and "No" on Issue 6 (the constitutional amendment to allow a casino into the state of Ohio). I encourage you to read their well thought-out reasons for these stances at

www.ohiocathconf.org/L/FC2008/bishelection08/finalballot08.pdf .