He coasted to victory in the Bay State.

The U.S. Catholic bishops took a beating at the polls. Not only was President Obama reelected, despite their attacks on him, the bishops also lost on state referendums on same-sex marriage.

Though we may feel as if we share little more than a zip-code with the voters beside us, in truth we share that great American feast and tradition: the ballot box. Nov. 6 is our festival day.

We have to engage. After all, Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the real stuff of his world -- day laborers and unjust judges, widows and orphans, strangers and immigrants, abused women and exploited workers, redistribution of wealth and reconciliation with enemies.

This has been happening to me my entire life. My "Catholicism" seems to rest on my belief about one single, solitary scenario: what to do about an unexpected pregnancy. How, in a world filled with as much trouble as ours, did my faith get reduced to that singular question?

Nothing is ever simple when it comes to Catholicism and politics. In 1996 and 2004 neither party's candidate was invited to the Al Smith Dinner. This year, conservative Catholics have been inundating the host, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, with demands to disinvite President Obama.