In November, Michigan voters will face a ballot question that would, if approved, call for a state constitutional convention.

The Michigan Catholic Conference is urging a No vote, explaining that “a constitutional convention would likely open Michigan’s governing document to extraordinary out-of-state influence and engagement.” That argument makes sense to me.

But it’s a prudential argument: an argument based on political judgment rather than moral principle. It’s very easy to imagine that a loyal Catholic would not foresee undue out-of-state influence, or even believe that such influence would be benign. Nothing in Church teaching would militate against such conclusions.

So while the advice from the MCC seems reasonable to me, I question whether it’s an appropriate stand to be taken by “the official voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan on matters of public policy.”