AMERICAN CATHOLICS now find themselves having to think about a question that concerns their church and the Democratic party’s presumptive presidential nominee, John Kerry. The question is: Can Kerry be a good Catholic and yet take positions as a lawmaker that contradict the teachings of the church on “life issues,” especially abortion and embryonic stem-cell research?
The question didn’t arise only with Kerry, who hardly is the first Catholic politician to support abortion rights. Church leaders have been mulling for some time how to respond to politician-parishioners holding views at odds with the church’s. And John Paul II approved a “doctrinal note” two years ago advising Catholic politicians of their duty “to oppose any law that attacks human life.” A task force now is developing guidelines for use by American bishops in their dealings with Catholic lawmakers.
