The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, will publish its customary Candidates Questionnaire (voters guide) for the April 4, 2000 primary election. Candidates were surveyed on a broad range of topics of interest to Catholic voters, and their responses are being published without comment of any type.

The primary election is Tuesday, April 4, 2000. The Candidates Questionnaire will be published in the Archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard and Times, on March 23, 2000, before the primary election. In addition, the questionnaire will be made available to pastors of each of the 286 parishes throughout the five-county Archdiocese. The questionnaire will be available through the Archdiocesan website (www.archdiocese-phl.org) beginning on March 23, 2000.

"We do not endorse any candidate or party, nor do we tell people how to vote," said Guy Ciarrocchi, director of the Office for Public Affairs. "The purpose of the questionnaire is to help people make informed choices."

The Candidates Questionnaire will list responses received from candidates in contested primary election races, including PA Attorney General, US Senate, US House of Representatives, and PA House of Representatives. Issues covered include education, health care, capital punishment and abortion. Candidates for US President will be surveyed following the primary election. Their responses will be in the questionnaire for the general election to be published during October 2000.