No Politics From The Pope?

Don't expect Pope Benedict XVI to be discussing campaign politics when he makes his first trip as Pontiff to the U.S. next week says one church official. "The pope will probably speak in broad enough and general enough terms that anybody who is determined to read endorsement of his or her political position will find an endorsement there," Russell Shaw, a former spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, tells the AP. "When and if that happens, it is going to be people reading things into the pope's remarks that aren't there."

While we may not hear any direct talk about the election, Catholic leaders have in recent years been forceful in advising members of the church on voting concerns. In 2004 in particular, several U.S. Catholic leaders found themselves in the middle of the campaign. St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke forbade John Kerry (a Catholic) from taking communion in his church because of his support for abortion rights and stem cell research. And Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput said Catholics voting for a candidate in support of abortion rights would be committing a sin.

A voting guide released by the U.S. Council of Bishops last November reiterated the church's position on those issues, calling them "intrinsic evils." But the guide allowed some wiggle room for Catholics when it comes to pulling that voting lever. "There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate's unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons," the voter's guide said.