Majority Faults Bishop for Directive Against Killea

Nearly two-thirds of Southern Californians think San Diego’s Roman Catholic Bishop Leo T. Maher acted inappropriately when he barred Assemblywoman Lucy Killea from receiving Communion because of her pro-choice stand on abortion, The Times Poll shows.

By a 62%-26% margin, Southern Californians disagreed with Maher’s action, which has catapulted Killea, a San Diego Democrat, into the national spotlight. The poll results closely track that of another recent survey, but it is unclear whether such anti-Maher sentiment will make a difference at the polls for Killea, who faces Assemblywoman Carol Bentley (R-El Cajon) in a special election Dec. 5 for a vacant state Senate seat.

Maher, who couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, issued the directive Nov. 15 on the basis that Killea’s public proclamation of her pro-choice position in television commercials was “in complete contradiction to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.”

The Times Poll found that women are more likely to disagree with Maher--74% of women interviewed called his actions inappropriate, in contrast to 50% of men.

A solid majority of both non-Catholics and Catholics expressed dissatisfaction with Maher. Non-Catholics disagreed with the Bishop by a 64%-21% margin, as compared to a 58%-35% margin for Catholics, the poll showed. But 11% of non-Catholics said they were uncertain, contrasted with 6% of Catholics.

The Times Poll was based on telephone interviews conducted from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21 with 1,067 people throughout Southern California, including 238 in San Diego. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Asked about the poll results, Killea said, “Clearly, people are concerned about freedom of choice and the separation of church and state, and they find (Maher’s actions) unpalatable. What kind of effect that’s going to have on the election, it’s hard to say.”

A spokesman for Bentley’s campaign agreed and called the poll results “not surprising.”

“Most people do believe in the separation of church and state, and we’re seeing that reflected once again,” said David Lewis, Bentley’s campaign consultant. He said he believes that the national attention Maher’s action has drawn, however, may help both Killea and Bentley by raising their name recognition.

A poll conducted last week by the San Diego Union found that 72% of San Diego county residents disagreed with Maher’s decision, which apparently is the first such sanction ever imposed by a bishop against an elected official in the United States over the abortion issue.