Three myths about Catholics and voting

In his latest e-letter, Deal Hudson (pictured right) offers the following remarks on three common errors of judgment about Catholics and voiting. These errors are so common, that he devoted an entire e-letter to them. Hudson's observations are so basic and important, that I've taken the liberty of excerpting his key statements below:

1. "Public officials shouldn't execute their offices in line with their Catholic faith. To do so would be to violate the separation of
   church and state. The same holds true about Catholics who vote in
   line with their religion... They're just imposing their beliefs on
   everyone else."
   
   "Wrong. Catholics aren't seeking laws that require citizens to attend
   church or observe Lenten fasts. That's ridiculous. On the contrary,
   Catholics support the protection of basic human rights through
   legislation and policy, such as the right to life and the right to
   educational freedom. These are laws and policies that embody the
   values that we -- as a nation -- agree to live by.
   
   
2. "Catholics only care about abortion. But there are many other
   issues out there that are just as important."
   
   "Wrong on both counts. First, faithful Catholics care about a full
   range of issues. But they also understand that the protection of the
   unborn is the dominant issue among all political issues. The mandate
   to protect innocent life is unconditional. Though some have
   criticized Catholics as being "single-issue" voters, the principle
   underlying the rejection of abortion extends to many other issues,
   such as bioethics, population, euthanasia, and even national defense.
   
   
3. "Conservative Catholics are hypocrites. They focus on the
   pro-life positions of the Catholic Church but ignore all the other
   policy stands that the U.S. bishops take."
   
   "Oh, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard this one...
   
   "This popular claim confuses the difference between principle and
   prudential judgment. You see, Church teachings propose general
   principles, and these principles are binding (care for the poor,
   protection for the unborn, etc.) However, the specifics of how those
   principles are implemented into policy is a matter of each person's
   prudential judgment."