Bishops issue ‘moral framework’ as a guide for Catholic voters

LOS ANGELES TIMES

BALTIMORE — Catholic voters who back candidates because of their support for abortion or other “assaults on human life” would be “guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil,” according to a statement adopted Wednesday by U.S. Catholic bishops.

The bishops defined what they called “threats to the sanctity and dignity of human life” as human cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, racism, torture and genocide.

In the midst of the 2008 presidential campaign season, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly endorsed an updated statement on faith and politics designed to help Catholics fulfill their political responsibilities to vote and run for office.

“It is not a voter guide,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., who presented a final version of the statement before the conference here. “It calls us as bishops to help form consciences for political life, not tell people how to vote or whom to vote for or against.”

The statement, titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” outlined the bishops’ consensus on various topics, such as opposition to same-sex marriage and the death penalty.