(T)he Church is called to be political but not partisan. Our cause is the protection of the weak and vulnerable and defense of human life and dignity, not a particular party or candidate.

— U.S. Catholic bishops

MY DAUGHTER was highly indignant when she came out of Mass Sunday and found a flier on her windshield, paid for by the National Right to Life PAC, urging her to vote for Jim DeMint.

What offended her was the assertion that there was a “pro-life” candidate in this Senate election.

My daughter, who has an “Inez” sticker on her bumper, knows Mrs. Tenenbaum doesn’t agree with us Catholics on abortion. But that doesn’t equate to a vote for Rep. DeMint.

Sure he opposes abortion in words, but “It’s people like him that are the reason women have abortions,” she said. She said it was because of attitudes like his that “women feel like they can’t carry their babies to term.” Why? Because if he had his way, “they’d lose their jobs and their livelihoods.” She meant his statement that single, pregnant women shouldn’t be allowed to teach.

My daughter had a point — a very Catholic point. I, too, was offended by the fliers. I’m sick of partisans and ideologues in this country thinking they can use Catholics for their purposes.

Something distributed inside the church Sunday illustrates how wrong they are — a four-page, condensed version of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document, “Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility.” An overview of Catholic teachings, it urged us to get out, vote, run for office and otherwise participate in ways that advance those principles.

It was like reading one of my own columns: “Politics cannot be merely about ideological conflict, (or) the search for partisan advantage.... Catholics may feel politically homeless, sensing that no political party and too few candidates share a consistent concern for human life and dignity.”

Neither party should feel smug about the “Catholic vote” in light of the document’s recap of Catholic teaching on issues:

• “Every person has a fundamental right to life,” which certainly includes “an innocent unborn child in a mother’s womb.” But remember that “Each person also has a right to the conditions for living a decent life,” including “food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing.”

• “The God-given institutions of marriage — a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman... should be supported and strengthened, not undermined.”

• “Our society must also continue to combat discrimination based on sex, race, ethnicity, disabling condition or age.” But “we cannot accept an understanding of pluralism and tolerance that suggests ‘every possible outlook on life (is) of equal value.’”

• As to war, “we have raised serious moral concerns and questions about preemptive or preventive use of force.... (W)e must be careful not to define our security primarily in military terms.”

• “(O)ur nation’s increasing reliance on the death penalty cannot be justified.”

• “The measure of welfare reform should be reducing poverty and dependency, not cutting resources and programs.”

• “The United States must lead the developed nations in... sharing the burden of environmental neglect and recovery.”

• “Affordable and accessible health care is... a fundamental human right and an urgent national priority.”

All of which makes it tough even to choose a candidate, and impossible to choose a party.

In our U.S. Senate race, “There is no pro-life alternative,” my daughter said. “Not really.”

So you decide based on other issues. I disagree with Mrs. Tenenbaum on abortion, but agree with her in other areas. More important, I see her as the kind of person who will be an independent voice for South Carolina, as opposed to the ideological automaton that Jim DeMint has insisted he will be.

I can’t speak for other Catholics. But as I see it, given that neither party squares with our beliefs, an independent voice is the best we can hope for.

Write to Mr. Warthen at bwarthen@thestate.com.