One nice thing about the Pope’s visit to the United States was that the excessive coverage of politics slowed down for a little while. But now the Pope is back in Rome, and politics has returned even to headlines — and the front pages of the Register.

This week, Charlie Spiering reports from Washington about John McCain’s efforts to convince Catholics to vote for him.

Whenever we cover politics, we get complaints. There’s a good reason for that. Fundamental issues of life and death are at stake in this election, just as they have been in previous elections. Compromise is unacceptable on matters of life and death. So are simplistic answers that ignore political realities.

When readers think they see the Register compromising or being imprudent or showing favoritism, they react.

But remember: Political news stories are simply our reporters’ attempts to fairly represent what others are saying and doing. Since we are a Catholic publication, they report the news in the light of Church teaching — but their work shouldn’t be considered the official line of the Register.

This week: See our front-page story about John McCain. Next week: The Democratic National Committee has written a response to a Register column by Mark Stricherz.

In the weeks to come: Hear all about it in the letters section.