Your experience seems odd to me. We came from the northeast originally and the Catholic church has traditionally been Democratic, that is the church of the people; the church of the unions; the church that supports labor.

Here it isn't just my local parish; it's the Los Angeles area. The are several large dioceses and they pretty much all are the same. There are over 15 million people in these three dioceses and except for a few rogue parishes, i.e. the OLD Latin rebels, they are all pretty much Democrats.

As I said, they don't tell us how to vote but they do tell us we should vote. We also have very strong programs supporting women who choose to have their babies instead of having abortions. They offer support, both financial and psychological, including housing if they need it. They help the women find adoptive homes or if they choose, to raise the child. They have job programs and training and medical care, much of it voluntary. We also have a food kitchen where food is given out without question to anyone who asks.

It's a very supportive atmosphere. Obviously, they are against abortion but they don't just fight against it; they actually do something to help women who are between a rock and a hard place.

BTW, I'm not Catholic so I'm not advertising for them. I've just been very impressed by what they offer.