Catholics leave issue of politics to dioceses

America's Roman Catholic bishops said from a private retreat in suburban Denver Friday that Catholics should not honor or give awards to politicians who defy "our fundamental moral principles" on abortion and other issues.

However, church leaders refrained from making a definitive statement on whether Holy Communion should be withheld from dissenting Catholic lawmakers. The bishops had entered the meeting badly divided over the issue and, after their closed-door discussion, affirmed that under church law each bishop can decide how to apply teachings in his own diocese.

"Bishops can legitimately make different judgments on the most prudent course of pastoral action. Nevertheless, we all share an unequivocal commitment to protect human life and dignity and to preach the Gospel in difficult times," the bishops said in a statement.

Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis sparked a national debate over Communion and politics in January by saying he would deny the sacrament to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic whose stand on some issues is against church teaching.

Over the next several months, more bishops weighed in, revealing their vast differences. Some said Communion should not be used as a public rebuke, while others urged Catholic lawmakers to abstain from taking the sacrament if they fail to uphold church teaching in their policymaking.

Even officials in the Vatican noted the American discord. They privately sent documents to the U.S. bishops' assembly to guide their discussion. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's orthodoxy watchdog, met with U.S. bishops visiting Rome this month and discouraged them from using the sacrament as a sanction.

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