Bishop Daniel Flores gave a thoughtful recent speech on religious freedom focusing on both the HHS mandate and immigration laws.  He distinguishes between the popular good and the common good:

I simply point out that we talk about the common good in a culture where our interlocutors in public policy are engaged in a race to create a consensus about the popular good. The popular good and the common good are two different notions. The popular good can be described as the will moving unconsidered reason to judgment, while the common good is reason moving the will to a well considered good.  Perceptions of the popular good can change radically fairly quickly. It just takes a good campaign. The Common good does not change radically, what it needs is a lamp-post upon which to stand. It has its own innate persuasive power. The good and the true do have a way of speaking for themselves.

Peter Maurin often spoke of creating a culture that "makes it easy to be good."  Our task as lay Catholics is to help build such a culture; here at Catholic Voices, along with many others, we hope to be a small part of "the good campaign" Bishop Flores describes.