Archbishop clarifies stance on pro-choice candidates

ST. LOUIS -- Archbishop Raymond Burke, who sparked a national debate about denying Holy Communion to pro-choice candidates, has given an opening to Catholics in his archdiocese who vote for such politicians.

In June, Burke said that Catholics cannot vote for candidates or policies in support of abortion and be worthy to receive Communion.

He now says Catholics can at times vote for those who favor abortion rights without committing a grave sin or having to go to confession.

In clarifying his stance last week, Burke said he believes Catholics could vote for a politician who is pro-choice as long as that's not the reason they are voting for the candidate. Catholic voters also must believe the candidate's stance on other moral issues outweighs the pro-choice stance.

His earlier comments drew criticism from Democratic politicians who felt Burke was unfairly targeting Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, and a Catholic, who supports abortion rights.

Among those who voiced concern with the archbishop's stance were two Catholic Democrats and Kerry supporters -- U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.

Slay said he was pleased with Burke's latest stance.

"I think that's a more reasonable position," Slay said. "I, for instance, make decisions on whether or not to support candidates based on whether they are willing to help us improve the city of St. Louis."

Before he arrived in St. Louis in January, Burke got national attention after calling for denial of Holy Communion to Catholic politicians in his native Wisconsin who support abortion rights. Once in St. Louis, he said he would deny Communion to Kerry.

Burke told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week that he wanted to clarify his position.

"People couldn't understand why I was saying what I was saying," he said Thursday. "I believe now it is important to make the distinction in order to make the discussion full, to articulate the matter as fully as possible. I didn't articulate it with distinction in June."

In June, Burke told KMOX Radio in St. Louis that it's "objectively wrong to vote for a pro-choice politician. People could be in ignorance of how serious this is. But once they understand and know this and then willingly do it, vote for a pro-choice candidate, then they need to confess that."

His remarks came a week after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a statement warning lawmakers at odds with church teaching that they were "cooperating in evil." The statement left it up to each bishop to decide whether to deny Communion. Under church law, bishops adapt Catholic teaching in their own dioceses.

Burke now says a Catholic could vote for an abortion-rights politician without committing a grave sin after weighing all the moral issues a candidate stands for.

However, a Catholic voter is committing a grave sin if he or she votes for an abortion-rights candidate because of that position.

"That is what's called formal cooperation in an intrinsically evil act," Burke said.