Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is a lay Catholic organization that works to promote the common good and the broad spectrum of Catholic social teaching. We are committed to confronting the moral scandal of poverty, health care reform, worker justice, ending the death penalty, promoting racial tolerance, and finding common ground on abortion. Catholic social teaching is not about a single issue or narrow ideologies of left or right. However, recent criticisms of Catholics in Alliance have provided the opportunity to clarify our position on contraception as it relates to finding comprehensive solutions to addressing the tragedy of abortion.

Catholics in Alliance has joined other faith-based and secular advocacy organizations to find comprehensive strategies that limit unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and reduce the number of abortions.

While polling and research demonstrate a diverse spectrum of opinion among Catholics, abstinence until marriage is the sexual ideal promoted by the Catholic Church. We believe that Catholic teaching has valuable lessons to offer our instant-gratification culture that often separates sex from loving, committed relationships and frequently treats the sacredness of sexuality as simply another commodity in a marketplace of choices. Sexual fidelity in marriage and abstinence for young adults are important Catholic virtues to promote. At the same time, Catholics in Alliance also rejects the paralysis of debates that pit proponents of contraception against abstinence advocates. As the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has stated, research supports a comprehensive approach that includes providing accurate information about contraception and abstinence as complementary, not competing, strategies.

After more than three decades of political stalemate and legal gridlock, the Alliance applauds legislative efforts that are now bringing pro-choice and pro-life leaders together around the urgent need to limit unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and reduce abortions. These efforts include the Pregnant Women Support Act and the Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act. Applying broad moral principles from a particular faith tradition in a pluralistic democracy enriched by diverse values requires prudential judgment and recognition that politics is the “art of the possible.” Both of these efforts represent essential steps toward finding common ground in service of the common good.