N.H. Catholic diocese issues voting guide

Bishop John McCormack said this is the first such pamphlet issued before a presidential primary.

"The church says that there are social issues in society that have moral dimensions and that Catholics should form their consciences on those social issues and then vote for a candidate who supports those issues the best way possible," he said.

The pamphlet acknowledges they will have trouble finding a mainstream presidential candidate whose stances completely align with church teaching.

Catholics must review whether "candidates support or tolerate policies that include intrinsically evil acts" and then "carefully assess the situation and decide which candidate will produce the least harm to innocent life, if elected," the pamphlet says.

Catholics will have differing viewpoints on important social issues such as war, economic justice, and healthcare, the pamphlet says. But Catholics will recognize - when they use reason supported by faith - that abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, and the destruction of human embryos for research are intrinsically evil acts, the pamphlet says.

"The best thing to say is they would be choosing a candidate who would produce the most good for people in terms of dignity or, in terms of human life, who would produce the least harm," McCormack said.

More than 50,000 copies of "Conscience and Your Vote" were being handed out at weekend Masses. Joseph and Theresa Grassi, parishioners of St. Patrick Church in Nashua, got a peek at them after Mass Wednesday.

"You hear candidates say they're against abortion, but once they're in office, they'll say, 'I have to respect the law,' " Joseph Grassi said. "So you have to judge their sincerity, or ask if it is a cop-out."

Theresa Grassi said she supports Hillary Clinton. "I'm very much against abortion," she said. "I wish she could change."