Washington D.C., Nov 17, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, reporting yesterday before the plenary of the USCCB on his job as President of the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians, blamed the media and partisan activists for unjustly attacking bishops who spoke out this election year on whether dissenting Catholic politicians should receive Communion.
In a speech delivered behind closed doors and released Wednesday, McCarrick also announced that the Task Force will follow the spirit of the agreement reached last June by the USCCB in Denver.
The Cardinal noted positively that there has been a “great deal of attention paid to the role of Catholics in political life during the last few months” which has forced Catholics to grapple with what it means to be a Cahtolic and a citizen, a voter.
Despite the media and partisan attempts to “pit one bishop against another,” he stated that the US bishops “are united in our defense of life and the dignity of the human person—the two great causes of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II--and we have continued to work together to preach the “Gospel of Life” in all its dimensions.”