This time, in the NYTimes, on the topic du jour

In the months to come, Democrats are likely to advance a number of reasons that they can support abortion rights and be good Catholics. In 1984, Mario Cuomo, then governor of New York, mounted the most nuanced apologia in his now famous speech at Notre Dame. But his rationale — that he was personally opposed to abortion but publicly required to uphold Roe v. Wade — now looks like ancient sophistry: having claimed that there was no public consensus opposing abortion, he worked to see that none developed.

The bishops recognize that compromise lies at the heart of politics. But for those pro-choice politicians who do not see themselves as enablers of abortion, the bishops are prepared to connect the dots. It is possible that they may also ask those who hold to this view to voluntarily abstain from receiving the eucharist, which is a sign and privilege of full communion with the church. This is no more than is expected of adulterers, say, or those who divorce and remarry outside the church. This approach respects individual conscience.

All the bishops can demand of any Catholic politician is that he or she act with an honest, undivided and informed conscience on moral issues of grave social consequence. Failing that, all they can hope for is the grace of a contrite heart.