USCCB statement on life issues.

Washington, DC -- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop (USCCB) released a statement (July 7, 2006) on the responsibilities of Catholics in public life. The statement reaffirms Church teaching on the right to life from conception to natural death. It emphasizes the Church's responsibility to teach the basic principles of morality and its members' responsibility to form their consciences in accordance with these teachings--such members, of course, to include Catholic politicians at all levels of government.

There was, however, no recommendation from the Conference on how the bishops ought to deal with Catholic politicians who vote for anti-life family legislation. This particular problem was meant to be addressed by a task force created by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired Archbishop of Washington, but no action was recommended by this group. In 2004, Cardinal McCarrick had already expressed his strong opposition to the two dozen bishops who felt they could no longer stand by idly when Catholic pro-abortion politicians challenged them by coming to Communion. Consequently it is still left to individual bishops to decide whether or not such officials resident in their dioceses should be denied reception of Holy Communion.

The statement in this latest USCCB report came out weaker than those contained in Pope Benedict's address to the ad limina meeting of the Ontario bishops. (See C.I., Oct. 2006).

Earlier this year, on June 7, 2006, a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex "marriage" died in the Senate. Cardinal McCarrick, who supported the ban, said later that day, during a CNN interview, that he "could live with" civil homosexual unions. Two days later he distanced himself from the remarks which contradict Church teaching, saying he had not made himself sufficiently clear.

In previous years, McCarrick was adamantly opposed to facing the question of what to do about Catholic legislators supportive of pro-abortion laws. In June of 2004 he refused to publish the memorandum of then-Cardinal Ratzinger (The Worthiness to receive Holy Communion: General principles; for text see C.I., Sept. 2004) until after a crucial Denver meeting, where the idea was being discussed, was over. One other opponent was Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.