www.Prussia.us, I agree with you on most points, but I must point out that I am Roman Catholic. Those that favor abortion wish to take the abortion issue into our schools and ito the political arena, but I for one do not. Anti-abortion "zealots" as you say have been guilty of some crimes by violating the rights of others, in similar numbers of environmentalist whckos have done damage to mink farms because they think it's cruel to raise minks for fur instead of the alternative which is to hunt wild minks to extinction by abolishing the farms.
The question that should be raised is where do the religious ideals stop and secular ideals beguin when making political decisions? That line will aways be determined by those making the decisions, and indirectly by those voting persons holding a set of certain ideals into polticial office. Debates on each topic will be battled, and the outcome SHOULD reflect the majority.
Battling teen pregnancy:
I understand that you think condom issue in schools is a partial solution to teen pregnancy. I submit to you that it is just a band-aid. The root cause is lack of parental guidance and teaching at home. (And we are not talking absolutes.. there shall ALWAYS be SOME teenage pregnancy). Unfortunately, you cannot legislate morality within the home. To do so WOULD be the theocracy you fear. By our very nature as free people, everyone must CHOOSE how to guide our children in moral lifestyles, and as you well know, many choose NOT to teach their children why promiscuity lead to family and financial hardship. Catholics are not advocating puritanism, but also they are not of the belief that allowing misbehavior (unprotected sex prior to marriage in this example) will lead to as large a reduction in teen pregnancy as advocating to parents the need to provide better guuidance to teens so they do not CHOOSE to be promiscuous. Yes, it all depends on whether or not the parents take the responsibility to hel prevent teens from making mistakes involving sex, and as we all know, responsibility must be TAKEN, it can never be FORCED upon anyone. We face a crisis of CULTURE, the likes of which originate in HOW WE THINK as Americans, when it comes to what is considered acceptable. Bottom line is, there is no cut and dried answer. You cannot force the hearts of Americans to assume responsible values.
As for stem cell research:
Other methods ARE being devised to utilize stem cells from OTHER course than undeveloped fetuses, such that we do not HAVE to take a step closer to using organic tissue which may be interpreted as a living being. I believe that your fear of our country disintegrating into a freedomless theocracy (E.G. Iran under Khomeini) is as ridiculous as saying that using stemcells from fetuses will automatically lead to our scientists starting a eugenics program. So, as you can see, this Catholic is not a religious nut. And most are not. People such as yourself often cannot distinguish between moral conviction and fascism, since they believe that ANYONE with such strong ideas on how to live is BOUND AND DETERMINED to foist those beliefs on others. Yeah, there are few out there that try, but Catholics take up the position that they themselves should not be FORCED to have their tax dollars spent on an endeavor they believe harms what they define as LIFE (fetuses in whatever form) because they hold that sacred. Whenever TAX MONEY is used to sponsor an activity which violates religious views without allowing those to opt out of supporting that activity with their money, it is not representative of the people, and the activity should NOT be part of governmental mandate. As far as government goes, it should be a NONISSUE. This is actually an extension of seperation of church and state.
Regarding illegal immigration:
I and dead set against it, and this is not a Catholic or religious issue. If we do not control our borders such that we prevent foreign criminals easy access to our country, we will naturally experience a huge crime wave, with all the burdons, justice system expenses, a suffering and death of our citizens it brings. If we do NOT control our borders, we will bring destruction from criminals down upon ourselves. It has occured to me to grab an AK-47 and join the minutemen down south, using force of arms to defend our borders, regardless of whether or not the political system considers it legal of not. No society can keep its identity and maintain law without border control.
As for capital punishment:
I as a Catholic have not beed faced with the decision to take another's life, criminal or otherwise, but fully understand that capital punishment is necessary to provide the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crimes. Some people just cannot be fixed. They are broken and are a danger to the rest of us. And there are not enough jails to seperate them from us. The line where imprisonment ends and capital punishment begins must be determjined by the majority of the people, in accordance with American tradition.
, just kidding
Ef dats gud enuf fer da gummint,dat gunnuf fer we'uns! 
---bil