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At least one highly-respected Church leader, Cardinal William H. Keeler of Baltimore, sees the serious mischief, and rank hypocrisy, in the arrogant antics of Burke and Sheridan and their ilk. Without naming names, Keeler is on record as saying, "We don't need bishops to get into the act." Keeler believes that it is up to the individual Catholic to determine whether he or she is in a state of grace with the Church before participating in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Cardinal Keeler's advice on the abortion/communion/politician issue sounds more Christian to me than the politically-related edicts of Burke and Sheridan.
I believe it is also wrong for church leaders, if they are determined to ignore Constitutional restraints, to focus on only one issue to embarrass elected politicians that they don't like. Choosing abortion as the litmus test is a prescription for Catholics to vote for Bush in the November presidential election. It is also insulting to Catholics and sets them up for ridicule and for questions, too, about their patriotism. And where are Burke and Sheridan's concerns for other important matters, like the Iraq War and social justice? If the clerics were against the Iraq War, then they would have had to criticize not only Kerry, who supported it, but also Bush, its prime instigator. Maybe, that is why they have chosen abortion issue as their instrument of attack.
Finally, anything that props up, supports, and gives aid and comfort to Sean Hannity, Richard Santorum and George W. Bush, Jr., has to be bad for humanity. This includes the clerical intriguing emanating from the likes of Bishops Burke and Sheridan.
http://baltimorechronicle.com/062104WilliamHughes.shtml