I just dropped by the website of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, looking for the pro-Obama lobby group’s take on the president’s meeting earlier today with Pope Benedict XVI.

I didn’t find anything about that, but I did come across a statement called “Catholics in Alliance Clarifies Position on Contraception.”

Call me obtuse, but I can’t say I find the following comments to be clear about much of anything in terms of stating where the group stands on the promotion of contraception:

Catholics in Alliance has joined other faith-based and secular advocacy organizations to find comprehensive strategies that limit unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and reduce the number of abortions.

While polling and research demonstrate a diverse spectrum of opinion among Catholics, abstinence until marriage is the sexual ideal promoted by the Catholic Church. We believe that Catholic teaching has valuable lessons to offer our instant-gratification culture that often separates sex from loving, committed relationships and frequently treats the sacredness of sexuality as simply another commodity in a marketplace of choices. Sexual fidelity in marriage and abstinence for young adults are important Catholic virtues to promote. At the same time, Catholics in Alliance also rejects the paralysis of debates that pit proponents of contraception against abstinence advocates. As the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has stated, research supports a comprehensive approach that includes providing accurate information about contraception and abstinence as complementary, not competing, strategies.

After more than three decades of political stalemate and legal gridlock, the Alliance applauds legislative efforts that are now bringing pro-choice and pro-life leaders together around the urgent need to limit unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and reduce abortions. These efforts include the Pregnant Women Support Act and the Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act. Applying broad moral principles from a particular faith tradition in a pluralistic democracy enriched by diverse values requires prudential judgment and recognition that politics is the “art of the possible.” Both of these efforts represent essential steps toward finding common ground in service of the common good.

It wouldn’t have been very hard to clarify where this so-called “Catholic” group stands on contraception, if that was their real intention. For example, if they support the Church’s teachings about the immorality of contraception, they could have said, “We support the Church’s teachings on contraception”; if not, they could have said, “We oppose the Church’s teachings on contraception.”

Instead, we’re left to try to decipher what is meant by the fact that Catholics in Alliance believes Church teachings on contraception “have valuable lessons to offer our instant-gratification culture,” yet the group also expresses support for “a comprehensive approach that includes providing accurate information about contraception and abstinence as complementary, not competing, strategies.” Oh, and let’s not forget this gem of clarity: “Applying broad moral principles from a particular faith tradition in a pluralistic democracy enriched by diverse values requires prudential judgment and recognition that politics is the ‘art of the possible.’”

On balance, I’d guess Catholics in Alliance is seeking to communicate that they support the promotion of contraception, without actually coming out and saying that directly. It’s an understandable bit of fudging for an organization that wants to claim that it’s authentically Catholic, even as it backs Obama’s positions contradicting basic Church teachings on issues like contraception and abortion.

But about the only thing the statement on contraception truly clarifies is that Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good doesn’t want to make it clear where it actually stands on the matter.