Panel on Communion sanctions raises questions on church and politics

Published: 2004-09-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The debate over whether Catholic politicians should be sanctioned by bishops if they do not vote in strict accord with church teaching has brought new focus to a long-simmering conflict, panelists at a Washington conference said. Speaking during the Religion Newswriters Association's annual conference Sept. 10, a Catholic member of Congress and two political commentators discussed the political effects of some bishops' attention to Catholic politicians who vote in favor of abortion. "It's remarkable to me after the past nine months, how much remains unclear" about the topic, said George Weigel, a fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a regular television and newspaper commentator. The question of whether the church should demand that its members vote to support Catholic teaching about abortion is simple, as far as he is concerned, because the "the pro-life position of the Catholic Church is not sectarian."

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