The discord between the Catholic Church and its followers in the United States crystallized with the candidacy of Geraldine Ferraro for vice president in 1984, when she became the target of attacks by members of the church hierarchy. Ferraro questioned why she was singled out on the abortion issue, and indeed, at times she seemed to be running against Archbishop O'Connor and other ecclesiastical authorities who challenged her pro-choice position. Through discourse appealing to tradition and authority, members of the Church hierarchy created a legitimate place for themselves on the political stage. This argument from authority--based on Kenneth Burke's "one master motive"--implied that the pro-life stance was not open to argument. The Church's monolithic position as defender of God's divine plan placed Ferraro in double bind situation when she personalized the abortion issue. However, evaluation of the standards by which she was measured indicate that conflicts between the two sides represented fundamental differences in female and male visions of morality, inherent in the discourse's narrative patterns. Psychologist Carol Gilligan has proposed questioning the standards by which women are evaluated as decision makers and problem solvers, arguing for a "post conventional" ethical system that would integrate an alternate vision of moral development. Two different versions of moral decision making emerge in the discourse generated by Ferraro and the Church hierarchy, differences that should encourage critical exploration of fundamental questions about communication as it relates to female and male constructions of reality. (NKA)