Catholic Group To Distribute Voter Guides Emphasizing Church Teachings On Issues Like Abortion, Contraception

The Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good on Thursday announced that it will distribute one million copies of its voter guide before the November elections in an effort to emphasize church teachings on various issues, including abortion and contraception, the Washington Post reports. According to Alexia Kelly, the group's executive director, distributing the guide is part of a campaign by liberal and moderate religious groups to contest the moral values of more conservative religious organizations. The guide quotes documents from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and outlines seven "key themes of Catholic social teaching." It also lists 18 "issues important to Catholics." According to the guide, "In recent years some have suggested that [Catholics] can answer this question (of how to vote) by applying a simple 'litmus test' of a few selected issues," adding, "But common sense tells us that deciding who to vote for is much more complicated. Seldom does a single candidate or party offer a consistently Catholic set of positions." Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, said the guide is a "blatant attempt to convince Catholics that they can vote for candidates who are wrong on the primary human rights issue of our time, which is abortion." The Rev. David Hollenbach, a professor of Catholic theology at Boston College, said he supports the guide, adding, "If one were to decide the only thing that matters in the election is avoidance of war and not to look at abortion and poverty, that ... would not wash, and vice versa." He added, "This cuts against people on both the left and the right." According to the Post, the groups Christian Coalition, Catholic Answers, Call to Renewal and the magazine Sojourners also plan to distribute voter guides before the elections (Cooperman, Washington Post, 9/29).

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