The updated document on Catholic participation in public life was made public today by the U.S. Catholic Bishop's Conference. Anything that the bishops put out usually gets a good amount of attention, so I won't spend too much space right now pontificating (pun intended) on its significance. The quick and dirty summary: not bad.

The document (and the shorter summary) put forward a very mainstream vision of Catholic political thought and the common good. Attempts by certain conservative bishops (Burke) to steer the Conference rightward appear to have been thwarted.

Indeed, partisans on both sides of the aisle are likely to be alternatively delighted and disappointed by the statement which highlights the primacy of issues like abortion, stem cell research, poverty, immigration and torture for Catholics while affirming that Catholics should not be "single issue voters."

Many Catholics, myself included, have often struggled with how to make political sense out of Church teaching. If nothing else, this document seems to affirm that challenge and the many directions one's conscience might take in trying to solve it.

Below is an excerpt from the statement's introduction:

As a nation, we share many blessings and strengths, including a tradition of religious freedom and political participation. However, as a people, we face serious challenges that are clearly political and also profoundly moral.

We are a nation founded on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” but the right to
life itself is not fully protected, especially for unborn children, the most vulnerable members of
the American family. We are called to be peacemakers in a nation at war. We are a country
pledged to pursue “liberty and justice for all,” but we are too often divided across lines of race,
ethnicity, and economic inequality. We are a nation of immigrants, struggling to address the
challenges of many new immigrants in our midst. We are a society built on the strength of our
families, called to defend marriage and offer moral and economic supports for family life. We
are a powerful nation in a violent world, confronting terror and trying to build a safer, more just,
more peaceful world. We are an affluent society where too many live in poverty and lack health
care and other necessities of life. We are part of a global community facing urgent threats to the
environment that must sustain us. These challenges are at the heart of public life and at the center
of the pursuit of the common good.

...In this statement, we bishops do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom
to vote. Our purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God’s truth.
We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in
light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a
particular election.