Catholic Diocesan Lawyers Continue to Ban Voting Guides

According to documents obtained by Culture & Cosmos, officials of the Dioceses of San Bernardino and La Crosse have instructed pastors and parish administrators not to allow the distribution of "Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics," published by Catholic Answers. With two weeks remaining before election day, the dioceses' actions are another episode in the political drama surrounding the question of the Catholic vote.

This seems extremely strange to me, especially for the Diocese of La Crosse. Archbishop Burke, the former Bishop of La Crosse, has approved the distribution of the Voter's Guide here in St. Louis.

In a Aug. 20 letter from Diocese of La Crosse attorney James G. Birnbaum to pastors and administrators, Birnbaum said the "Voter's Guide" ought not to be distributed on parish grounds or during parish activities. The "Voter's Guide" cites papal and Vatican documents and identifies five issues it calls "non-negotiable": abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning and homosexual "marriage." Supporting any of these issues, according to the guide, would disqualify a candidate as a viable option for a faithful Catholic.

Birnbaum said the "listing of issues is too narrow to pass legal muster" according to the provisions of the tax code that govern non-profit organizations like churches. He said that a voter guide from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference that had not yet been published at the time the letter was written was the "only guide we believe is safe to distribute or rely upon at the parish level."

I wonder if this would be happening if Archbishop Burke were still there?

Source.