Religious Documents

Worthiness To Recieve Communion: General Principles
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding The Participation of Catholics in Political Life
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Evangelium Vitae
Pope John Paul II
Catholics in Political Life U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. June 7, 2004.

Opposition to Abortion More Than an Article of Faith, by Bishop Paul S. Loverde. Catholic Herald October 21, 2004.
Seven principles to take with us to voting booth, by Most Reverend George J. Lucas, D.D. Bishop of Springfield, IL. Oct. 17, 2004.
Catholic participation in political life, revisited. Francis Cardinal George, OMI Archbishop of Chicago. Catholic New World Oct. 10, 2004.
Worthy to Receive the Lamb: Catholics in Political Life and the Reception of Holy Communion, from Archbishop Donoghue (Atlanta, GA), Bishop Baker (Charleston, SC) and Bishop Jugis (Charlotte, NC). August 4, 2004
Catholic Politicians and Bishops. By Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis. America June 21-28, 2004.
A Time For Honesty, Pastoral Statement by The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark. May 5, 2004.
Why Communion Could Be Denied to Anti-Life Legislators. Interview with Father Thomas Williams, dean of the School of Theology of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.
Why Don't Catholic Politicians Practice What the Catholic Church Preaches?, by Judie Brown. Washington Dispatch April 19, 2004.
How to tell a Duck from a Fox: Thinking with the Church as we look toward November, by Archbishop Chaput. Denver Catholic Register April 14, 2004.
A Pastoral Letter on Morality and Conscience, by Bishop John R. Keating. Sept. 17, 2004.
On the Dignity of Human Life and Civic Responsibility, a Pastoral Letter by La Crosse Bishop Raymond L. Burke.
Denying Holy Communion: A Case History, by Bishop Emeritus Rene Henry Gracida. [PDF Format].

Related Readings

John Kerry, Abortion, Communion and the Catholic Church

Kerry and Abortion: A Look at Stark Reality Without Distractions, by Greg Sisk. Mirror of Justice [blog] Oct. 20, 2004.
An Open Letter From Fellow Catholics To John Kerry On Faith & Reason. Oct. 19, 2004.
Article of Faith: Kerry says faith affects his other positions, so why not abortion?, by Mark Brumley. NRO. Oct. 14, 2004.
Not In Good Conscience, by Robert P. George and Gerard V. Bradley. NRO. Oct. 12, 2004.
Communion & Communio First Things 145 (August/September 2004): 86-104.
Catholics, Politics & Abortion: My argument with Mario Cuomo, by Kenneth L. Woodward, and Persuade or Coerce? Response by Mario Cuomo. Commonweal Sept. 24, 2004.
Irreconcilable Differences", by Matthew Mehan. NRO Sept. 16, 2004.
John Courtney Murray and the 'Liberal Catholic' Justification of Abortion Investigative report by Christopher Blosser. August 30, 2004.
"Please answer the question, Senator Kerry", The Mighty Barrister. August 2, 2004.
You wouldn't even ask. Fr. Pavone (Priests for Life). July 2004.
Kerry isn't making abortion stand clear, by Raymond J. Keating. Newsday July 27, 2004.
Senator Kerry May Be Human . . . But is He a Person?, Catholic Kerry Watch. July 23, 2004.
Kerry's Catholic Problem, by Brent Bozell. July 7, 2004.
The Body Politic and the Body of Christ: Candidates, Communion and the Catholic Church. Debate btw/ Thomas J. Reese, S.J. and George Weigel. June 23, 2004.
A Prolife Case against Bush: It's about more than abortion, by Sidney Callahan. Commmonweal June 4, 2004.
The Kerry challenge, by George Weigel. May 5, 2004.
Rites and Wrongs: Why John Kerry should not take communion, by Philip F. Lawler. Wall Street Journal April 30, 2004.
John Kerry's Catholic Problem", by Cal Thomas. April 26, 2004.
Kerry Distorting Catholic Doctrine. Newsmax.com interviews George Weigel. April 16, 2004.
"Personally Opposed, But . . ." Five Pro-Abortion Dodges, by Todd M. Aglialoro. Crisis April 1, 2004.
Blood On Their Hands: Exposing Pro-abortion Catholic Politicians, by Mark Stricherz. Crisis May 2003.
The Failure of Catholic Political Leadership, by Robert P. George & William E. Saunders. Crisis 18, No. 4 (April 2000).
Ten questions regarding the denial of the Eucharist, by Barbara Kralis.

"Public Witness/Public Scandal" Conference, Ave. Maria School of Law. A scholarly conference addressing the controversy over Catholic politicians who consistently advocate and vote against pro-life positions. Participants include Robert P. George, Kenneth L. Woodward, Monika K. Hellwig, Rev. Richard J. Neuhaus, Rev. John Langan, S.J., Gerard V. Bradley and Rev. John J. Coughlin, O.F.M. [website contains speaker's papers in .pdf format].

On Embryonic Stem-Cell Research

Stem Cells and the Reagan Legacy, by Gilbert Meilaender. New Atlantis No. 6, Summer 2004.
Reagan vs. Reagan and The Stem-Cell Cover-Up, Catholic Kerry Watch, August 14, 2004.
Senator Kerry dismisses religious convictions as "ideology" Catholic Kerry Watch. August 9, 2004.
Ron Reagan & Functionalism, Revisited, Catholic Kerry Watch. July 29, 2004.
Out of Touch, by Michael Fumento. Refuting Kerry's claims on the use of embryonic stem cells. Citizen Magazine August 2004.
The Wrong Tree: Embryonic stem cells are not all thatStem Cell Defection, by Ramesh Ponnuru. National Review August 16, 2004.
Stem Cell Research: Fact Sheets, Letters to Congress and Articles from the USCCB.

On Voting, "Proportionality" and Cardinal Ratzinger's Memorandum

Bishops at a Turning Point, by Richard J. Neuhaus. "The Public Square" First Things 146 (October 2004): 76-81.
What Ratzinger Said, by James Akin. Sept. 9, 2004.
Bishops Refute Flawed Theology (of Andrew Greeley) Barbara Kralis. August 22, 2004.
Thoughts on Proportionality, Catholic Kerry Watch. July 12, 2004.

. . . From a moral perspective, the issues of concern are not always of equal importance or urgency. Some are more fundamental and therefore more pressing than others. Pope John Paul II reminds us in the Gospel of Life, "It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop." In our preparation, each of us should measure candidates and proposed constitutional amendments by how they will safeguard or diminish the life, dignity and rights of the human person. Dignity and rights have no meaning for the person who has been denied life. We should inform the candidates that our values impel us to insist - because of our Lord's own witness to the sacredness of human life - that the killing of an unborn child or vulnerable adult is always intrinsically evil and can never be justified. Be Faithful Citizens! - Collective statement of Florida Catholic Bishops' Conference.

The American Catholic Voter Voting According to Catholic Principles Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics, by Catholic Apologetics Organization Catholic Answers. What every Catholic needs to know about voting, Addresses such questions as "Don't I have freedom of conscience to vote as I see fit?" and "What about 'separation of church and state'?". Our Sunday Visitor Publications. Catholic Citizenship, a new initiative to educate Catholics on public policy issues with the help of former Boston Mayor and Ambassador to the Vatican, Raymond L. Flynn. Pre-Election Letter to the People of Arlington, by the Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington. Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. VotingCatholic.Org, "created as a means of applying the principles outlined in Faithful Citizenship to the current public debate surrounding the U.S. Presidential Election." Although the website claims to adopt a "non-partisan approach to the issues at hand", some have -- in my opinion, justifiably -- criticized it's "leveling" approach to moral issues, placing economic concerns along side abortion and euthanasia as having equal weight. Research and Reporting WeVoteProLife.Com Special Report: U.S. Catholics and Civic Engagement The Commonweal Foundation. Project funded by the Pew Charitable Trust. [.pdf format] Catholic Voters PBS' Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Special Report. Oct. 8, 2004. Contains links to related news stories on the subject.