Catholic Politicians

Sen. John F. Kerry saw his Catholic faith pushed to the center of the nation's political stage Friday as he expressed unabashed support for abortion rights, even as a top Vatican official issued a statement saying priests must deny Communion to Catholic politicians who take that stance. The statement from Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II, set off a tempest among church activists across the U.S.

Police clashed Saturday with Roman Catholics trying to block a Protestant march through their neighborhood, giving new urgency to efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Catholic politicians called the violence the worst since the Sept. 1, 1994, Irish Republican Army cease-fire and said it seriously threatened chances for peace.

It's interesting to note that Catholic judges who abide by Roe vs. Wade -- or say they will -- have been bystanders in the recent debate over potential conflicts between a public official's religious beliefs about abortion and his official duties. But that is changing with the Supreme Court nomination of John G. Roberts Jr., who, if confirmed, would be the fourth Catholic on the Rehnquist court. According to a column on this page by Jonathan Turley, Sen.

Pope Benedict XVI will be preaching on his visit to Washington and New York next April, his first trip to the United States as pope. That's part of a pope's job description. But many American Catholics hope that the papal visit will double as what politicians in this country call a "listening tour."

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, taking a more militant offensive in the emotional battle over abortion, declared Tuesday that the pro-choice position is not an option for Catholics and urged public officials to work to end legal abortions. In a strongly worded resolution that was unanimously approved on the second day of their four-day fall meeting here, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops called abortion an "overriding concern" and "the fundamental human-rights issue" of the day.

One of the most sexually repressed institutions in human history has been caught with its pants down yet again but still insists on wagging its disapproving finger at the rest of us.

The Internal Revenue Service advises churches and other tax-exempt organizations that, under federal law, they are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.” But the 2012 election campaign that mercifully is coming to a close demonstrates that some religious leaders, while they may be abiding by the letter of the law, are willing to undermine its spirit.

Praise the Lord for Thomas, who filled me with ethical fervor by quoting Bishop John Meyers' truly uplifting statement, "From an ethical point of view, there is no distinction between being 'pro-choice' and being "pro-abortion.' " The only thing this faithful shepherd could say to bring me closer to God would be, "From an ethical point of view, there is no distinction between failing to cast a stone at an adulteress and condoning adultery." PHILIP H. KRAMER Santa Ana

The senior Roman Catholic political leader in Ulster told the Irish Republican Army on Tuesday that ending the campaign of violence for a united Ireland would be one of the century's "greatest acts of moral courage." John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, said he realized that Sinn Fein, the legal political arm of the outlawed IRA, would face an enormous challenge in accepting the terms of last month's British-Irish peace declaration.