Seattle, Wash., Dec 4, 2003 / 22:00 pm
As practicing Catholics, Catholic lawmakers cannot support legislation that is "anti-life," said Bishop Raymond L. Burke in letters that he sent recently to Catholic politicians, reported the Journal Sentinel.
The bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, urged Catholic legislators to change their voting patterns, which contradict the Church’s teachings on abortion and assisted suicide. Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Burke, who served La Crosse for nine years, archbishop of St. Louis Tuesday.
If legislators were to continue to vote against the pro-life position, “I would simply have to ask them not to present themselves to receive the sacraments because they would not be Catholics in good standing," the bishop told the Journal Sentinel in an interview. "They can't promote any legislation, which would either continue or worsen the anti-life practices," he added.
"As a faithful member of the Catholic Church, you have an obligation to fulfill the duties of your office with regard not only to the laws of the state, but also with regard to the moral law," Burke wrote in a two-page letter sent to Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point).