ST. LOUIS — One by one, U.S. bishops are upping the ante in dealing with Catholic politicians who support abortion.

Several bishops have hailed La Crosse, Wis., Bishop Raymond Burke's warning to pro-abortion politicians to refrain from presenting themselves for Communion unless they conform their political stance to Church teaching on the sanctity of human life.

While other bishops haven't gone quite as far as Archbishop Burke, a number have publicly supported him. They include New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes, Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Madison, Wis., Bishop Robert Morlino.

It didn't take long for Archbishop Hughes to follow Burke's lead. “When Catholic officials openly support the taking of human life in abortion, euthanasia or the destruction of human embryos,” he wrote in his weekly column for his archdiocesan newspaper, “they are no longer faithful members in the Church and should not partake of holy Communion.”

He also warned Catholic voters about neglecting their duty to uphold the culture of life.

“Moreover, citizens who promote this unjust taking of human life by their vote or support of such candidates share in responsibility for this grave evil,” he wrote.

Archbishop Hughes stopped short of banning priests from giving Communion to such politicians.

Bishop Morlino said he was in “complete agreement” with Archbishop Burke's position.

In his weekly column in Madison's Catholic Herald newspaper, Bishop Morlino wrote: “It is indeed the case that Catholics who are public officeholders enjoy the blessing of only one conscience — they do not have one conscience for their private lives and one for their public responsibility, one for Church matters and another for state matters. That could not be more clear.”

Archbishop Dolan said he was “happy” Archbishop Burke had “front-burnered this issue.”

“We're saying this is a principle that we can't waffle on,” Archbishop Dolan told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “This is a cause that for us is the premiere cause of social justice in America today.”

The Sentinel is the paper that broke the news of Bishop Burke's stand on abortion. Only days after the Dec. 2 announcement of the La Crosse bishop's appointment as archbishop of St. Louis, the paper reported on the existence of three letters Bishop Burke had written to Catholic Wisconsin legislators in August and early November.

The letters asked for a private meeting to discuss “Living the Gospel of Life,” the 1998 letter of the U.S. bishops, which was included with Archbishop Burke's communication.

Written in confidence, Archbishop Burke had no intention of making the letters public.

State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, who acknowledged being one of the recipients, released a statement saying, “When I was sworn into office, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution. My constituents have the right to expect that I will represent people of all faiths. Bishop Burke certainly has a right to voice his opinion, and I will give him the same respectful hearing I would give any other citizen.”

On Jan. 8, Bishop Burke released a pastoral letter, “On the Dignity of Human Life and Civic Responsibility,” and a canonical notification to Catholic politicians in his diocese stating that Catholic legislators who support abortion or euthanasia should not present themselves for Communion.

“I hold Bishop Burke in high regard; however, I believe any effort to pressure legislators by threatening to deny them the sacraments is contrary to the principles of democracy,” Lassa commented after the Jan. 8 letter.

The American Life League honored Bishop Burke at a Washington, D.C., press conference Jan. 22. The group has launched an ad campaign titled “The Way of La Crosse” to urge other bishops to follow Archbishop Burke's actions.

Vatican Guidelines

While Archbishop Burke's specific actions are unprecedented, the historical precedent for addressing the issue was laid down by a Vatican document and previous bishops.

In January 2003, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued “Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life.” That document stated, “A well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals.”

Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento, Calif., was the first U.S. bishop to use the note when he criticized former California governor Gray Davis’ public support of abortion. Davis is Catholic.

Bishop Weigand told the Register at the time, “I have to say clearly that anyone — politician or otherwise — who thinks it acceptable for a Catholic to be pro-abortion is in very great error, puts his or her soul at risk and is not in good standing with the Church. Such a person should have the integrity to acknowledge this and choose of his own volition to abstain from receiving holy Communion until he has a change of heart.”

Bishop Weigand, however, stopped short of saying that Davis should be denied Communion.

Only two months later Bishop Robert Carlson of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, S.D., reportedly wrote Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle about his support of abortion as a Catholic legislator.

MSNBC reported that Bishop Carlson had written a letter to Daschle instructing him to “remove from his congressional biography and campaign documents all references to his standing as a member of the Catholic Church.”

Neither Bishop Carlson nor Daschle confirmed the letter, saying they were unwilling to discuss private conversations in the media.

Still others point to Lincoln, Neb., bishop Fabian Bruskewitz's 1996 canonical warning as the precedent for the recent string of bishops’ actions.

While not directed at legislators, Bishop Bruskewitz threatened excommunication — thereby forbidding reception of holy Communion — for any parishioners who were members of organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Call to Action, the Freemasons or Catholics for a Free Choice.

State of Grace

Archbishop Dolan said he had not sent letters to Catholic politicians regarding their position on the abortion issue and had not sought them out specifically to bring it up in conversation.

“I know that Bishop Burke himself has said, ‘I'm not saying every bishop should do it this way,’” Archbishop Dolan said. “He's said, ‘This is the way that I prudentially made up my mind as pastor of the Diocese of La Crosse that I need to do this.’ And I would respect his pastoral judgment. But I know every bishop's just got to kind of make up his mind prudentially as to the way, the style he's going to do it in his own diocese.”

Archbishop Dolan added that he was waiting for a task force from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to propose guidelines for bishops this fall.

In their meeting in November, the bishops began work on a set of guidelines on how to handle relationships with Catholics whose actions in public life are not in accord with Church teaching.

“These politicians should know that if they're not voting correctly on these life issues that they shouldn't dare come to Communion,” the archbishop told LifeSiteNews.com.

Boston Archbishop Sean O'malley made similar remarks following the Vigil for Life Mass in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21.

“These politicians should know that if they're not voting correctly on these life issues that they shouldn't dare come to Communion,” the archbishop told Life-SiteNews.com.

Archbishop O'Malley noted that beyond pro-abortion politicians, reception of holy Communion by those not in a state of grace is sadly commonplace.

“I think it's in the context of a greater problem — Catholics feel that everyone is entitled to go to Communion all the time,” Archbishop O'malley told LifeSite-News. “That has to be addressed … we've lost the notion of the sacredness of Communion and the kind of disposition we need to have.”

Tim Drake writes from St. Cloud, Minnesota.