In interviews with the Register, two of the five new members of the bishops’ National Review Board said they fully back Catholic doctrine in opposition to abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem-cell research, homosexual “marriage” and cloning. One said he's guided by Church positions on moral issues, and two declined to answer the Register's questions directly.

Bishop Gregory appointed the new members and promoted board member Nicholas Cafardi as chairman. Cafardi, dean of the Duquesne University Law School, said he suspects the new members respect Catholic teachings on abortion and other life issues.

“I know them to be good, orthodox Catholics who were carefully chosen,” Cafardi told the Register.

Cafardi described himself as an orthodox Catholic and a “Bob Casey Democrat,” referring to the late governor of Pennsylvania who was snubbed as a speaker at the 1992 Democratic National Convention because of his pro-life views.

“I worked for the Church for 13 years of my professional life, as the lawyer for the Pittsburgh Diocese, and I followed it up by coming to work for a Catholic university,” Cafardi said. “I was one of the first lay canon lawyers in the United States, and the Church is very much my life. Anybody who knows me knows that I'm pro-life.”

New members of the board are:

• Judge Michael Merz, a federal magistrate in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio. Merz calls himself an “orthodox, cradle Catholic” who has been active in the Church all his life and has been a registered Republican his entire adult life.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Merz said: “My views are orthodox on all of those.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Merz said: “I don't make any political contributions of any kind, because as a sitting federal judge, I'm prohibited from doing that. My voting decisions for this election are not made up. I'm trying to listen carefully to what the bishops have had to say about it, and what Cardinal [Joseph] Ratzinger has had to say, but my mind isn't made up.”

• Dr. Angelo Giardino, vice president for clinical affairs at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. He is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools for 12 years.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Giardino said: “I certainly would consider myself pro-life… I would say they're all very serious issues and all obviously hotly contested. As I form my views on those issues, I certainly do consult what the Church teachings are to help inform that decision. As the issue gets debated, I certainly take what the Church says seriously.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Giardino said: “I consider a candidate's stand on sanctity-of-life issues very seriously. I can't say it's my sole litmus test, because there are many other issues of similar or equal importance. It's certainly an important parameter, but not my sole parameter.”

• Joseph Russoniello, dean of the San Francisco Law School and senior counsel and resident in the law firm Cooley Godward LLP. Russoniello is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from high school through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research and homosexual “marriage,” Russoniello said: “Abortion, I'm square (with the Church) on that. Euthanasia, I'm square on that. Stem-cell research, I'm square on that. Homosexual “marriage,” I'm square on that. Human cloning, I'm square on that. My views are consistent with the Church on all of those. I am a supporter of the death penalty, and I don't think that puts me in conflict with the Church.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Russoniello said: “I haven't ever knowingly supported a pro-choice candidate. Someone who is consciously and overtly pro-choice is not someone who endears himself or herself to me.”

• Patricia O'donnell Ewers, an educational consultant who served as president of Pace University in New York from 1990 to 2000. She is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Ewers said: “One of the questions asked me at my interview (for the board) was where I took public stances in relation to the Church, and I think one of the wisest things for me to do is not to take public stances on issues outside of those with which I will be concerned as a member of the board.

“I would add to that list (of nonnegotiables) war and capital punishment — those are all major issues of concern. I think they should be on a list of any issues that Catholics who are thoughtful about moral issues of our time should consider.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Ewers declined to comment.

• Ralph Lancaster Jr., an attorney at the Pierce Atwood law firm in Portland, Maine. Lancaster is a lifelong Catholic who attended Catholic schools from high school through college.

On abortion, euthanasia, stem-cell research, cloning and homosexual “marriage,” Lancaster said: “There's a danger that, if a board member expresses his or her view on a particular issue, that the public interprets that as if he or she were speaking in a representative capacity. I'm going to persist in my declination to answer those questions.”

On support of pro-abortion candidates, Lancaster declined to comment.

Though Lancaster refused to reveal his position on life issues, he resigned as chairman of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Judiciary because of the association's 1992 resolution endorsing a right to abortion. At the time, he told Insight magazine, “I would not have resigned if the ABA had not adopted its resolution on abortion. The issue is so controversial that it should not be part of the ABA's agenda.”