ST. LOUIS CATHOLICS DEBATE ARCHBISHOP'S LETTER: From the Los Angeles Times

After Wednesday's morning Masses, Catholic parishioners voiced anger and support for the archbishop of St. Louis, who issued a pastoral letter saying it was a "grave sin" to vote for politicians who supported same-sex marriage, abortion or stem-cell research.

Archbishop Raymond Burke's letter states that voters are violating "the solemn duty to protect human life" if they support politicians who back those issues. The letter -- about 6,700 words long -- was published Friday in the weekly archdiocesan newspaper and posted on its website. "Procured abortion and homosexual acts are intrinsically evil, and, as such, can never be justified in any circumstance," Burke wrote. "Although war and capital punishment can rarely be justified, they are not intrinsically evil; neither practice includes the direct intention of killing innocent human beings."

If all candidates in a race support abortion rights or same-sex marriage, then a Catholic can vote without committing sin, according to Burke's letter.

"I don't know what to do," retiree Terrence Praince, 69, said as he left Mass Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. "I think [same-sex] marriage is wrong, but I'm also against the war. My wife and I are both Democrats. How do we vote?"A summary of the letter, as well as a question-and-answer section regarding it, was released this week.

A few priests took things a step further and invited members at several area Catholic churches to sign a pledge saying that legalized abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning and same-sex marriage were "intrinsically evil." ...

The pastoral letter was not designed to sway voters away from Kerry or any other specific candidate, said the Rev. Edward J. Richard, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Instead, the archbishop was "presenting traditional Christian teaching to help voters make informed decisions, not only about this election but future ones," Richard said. "We had these values before there were Republicans and Democrats. And the church will have them long after this race."

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posted by Eve at 4:29 PM VOTE

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