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     Pope Benedict XVI, stated: "Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." For this reason, abortion and euthanasia are threshold issues. A "threshold issue" is one which does not allow more than one moral outcome. Threshold issues are fundamental and the Church’s position is morally binding.

     The principles of voting Catholic are expressed in the following fundamental concepts:

• Life begins at conception. Therefore, a person’s right to exist begins at conception.

• Society’s duty is to protect innocent life from the moment of conception to natural death.

• The Catholic Church recognizes and teaches that protection of life is the paramount issue.

• The deliberate destruction of an innocent human being is a violation of the person’s rights and therefore always intrinsically wrong.

• Social issues such as hunger, adequate housing and health care, while worthy, are irrelevant if the human being is not first afforded the fundamental right to exist.

• Voting for a candidate based on his/her stand on social issues is unjustified if the candidate does not understand or support the person’s right to exist.