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As if it were that easy. Catholic voters confronted with political candidates, none of whom abide 100 percent our positions on a checklist of our morals and values as applied to politics, can easily hesitate when reaching for the levers in the voting booth.

But the great blessing of Catholicism is a long tradition, thorough teachings and room for individual conscience guided by the Church at large. The first and best advice: register to vote, then vote. If you are not in the arena, you can't play and your values and choices won't matter. There are too many of us who complain, do nothing and then even stay home on election day.

Next, educate yourself and develop that conscience. Learn our Catholic values and theology, study the political issues and research the candidates. Keep in mind, too, the larger picture. We should participate in public life on many levels beyond just voting.
As the U.S. Bishops declared in their 2007 guide, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, "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."

Like it or not, there is rarely a perfect candidate who advocates and acts in concert with Catholic teachings across the board. We will have to untangle issues and think hard.
Naturally, not all issues carry the same weight. Political positions on certain life issues, for instance, matter more than those on tax credits for solar energy. Still, no candidate will satisfy all concerns.

As the bishops acknowledge, "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."

To reach that decision point will take a lot of work on all our parts.

The faithful storyteller
After eight years here as a reporter, Pat Pasternak is leaving for a job as a pastoral associate at Blessed Sacrament parish in Albany. We, and our readers, will miss her dearly but wish her well.

She was born in Albany, raised there and in Rensselaer and attended St. John's Academy. After raising four children and completing an English degree at Siena while working in the Diocesan insurance office, Pat applied here to freelance. Thankfully, a job was open and in she came.

To her work, Pat brought warmth and insight and a great, embracing laugh, one that wrapped her heart around others. But like a good journalist, "I approach everything with skepticism," she said. "Of course, I resolve it all before I write."

The highlights of her career include reporting trips to World Youth Day in Toronto and the poor areas of Jamaica. And, she said, "Meeting and interviewing people from all different walks of life, from cardinals to children."

The path to her new work - handling pastoral care, outreach and a busy pantry at the Central Avenue church - began years ago when Pat began taking graduate courses at St. Bernard's School of Ministry and Theology.

"I discerned a calling for pastoral care," she said. In ministering, Pat is likely to carry the primary lesson of her writing life here at The Evangelist.

"Everybody has a story. Everybody. And everyone's story is important because, collectively, it's our story."
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