Bishops’ politics guidelines not written in stone

U.S. Catholic bishops this week released a statement on faith and politics, as they have for more than 30 years, that urged Roman Catholics to follow church teachings as they participate in the political process.

The statement, titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” was posted online Wednesday at usccb.org and prompted swift reactions, both positive and negative, from a variety of Catholic groups. Less visible was the process of debate and group editing used to produce the document. The bishops considered dozens of proposed revisions, rejecting some and approving others.

The statement, approved at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ meeting in Baltimore, addresses many issues, from healthcare to the war in Iraq, and repeated church opposition to abortion, the death penalty and embryonic stem cell research. It said voters who back candidates because of their support for such “assaults on human life” would be “guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil.”

Some edits were minor. In one sentence, for example, the bishops deleted a “yet.” Elsewhere, “Earth” sometimes became “earth.”

And like writers everywhere, the bishops rearranged words to emphasize particular points. One sentence originally read, “Other direct assaults on innocent human life and violations of human dignity, such as racism, torture, genocide, and the targeting of noncombatants in acts of terror or war, can never be justified.” The revision gave more emphasis to genocide: “Other direct assaults on innocent human life and violations of human dignity, such as genocide, torture, racism and the targeting of noncombatants in acts of terror or war, can never be justified.”

Some edits reflected the give-and-take of the bishops’ discussions, some of which were conducted in public, and the complexity of the issues considered.

The document counsels that when faced with the dilemma of candidates endorsing an intrinsic evil, the conscientious Catholic may take the “extraordinary step” of not voting or voting for the candidate “deemed less likely to advance such morally flawed position.”

“It may not be perfect, but it’s something in the right direction,” said Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs, Colo. References to protecting human life appear repeatedly in the text. Some edits show that the bishops’ concerns go beyond abortion.

For example, the draft said that in today’s political environment, some Catholics may feel that “no party and too few candidates fully share the Church’s comprehensive commitment to the dignity of the human person.” Bishop Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo, N.D., suggested that the last phrase be expanded to “the dignity of the human person, and most especially for the unborn person.”

The bishops agreed to revise the sentence but chose wording that went beyond Aquila’s suggestion and alluded to church opposition to euthanasia. The final change, which appears here in italics, states that “no party and too few candidates fully share the Church’s comprehensive commitment to the dignity of every human being from conception to natural death.”

The moral responsibility of Catholics to do good is another running theme in the document, and subtle changes emphasize that point. Consider this sentence: “Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound judgments about moral questions based on the values of our faith.”

Among the revisions to this sentence was a substitution for the word “values.” The revision, highlighted in italics, reads: “Conscience always requires serious attempts to make sound moral judgments based on the truths of our faith.”

In some instances, the bishops added entirely new paragraphs to their original draft. Here’s one example acknowledging that voters consider many issues when evaluating candidates. “As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.”

Though commentary and news coverage on the bishops’ statement focused on larger issues of doctrine and morality, the bishops also focused on small details. For example, one sentence about healthcare originally read: “With more than 47 million Americans lacking health care coverage, it is also an urgent national priority.”

This prompted Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., to ask, “Where do we get this estimate?”

The sentence was changed to read, “With an estimated 47 million Americans lacking health care coverage, it is also an urgent national priority.” A notation added that the estimate came from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Bishop elected

The Rev. Charles E. Blake, the influential Los Angeles pastor appointed this year as presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, was formally elected to the post Monday.

Blake, pastor of West Los Angeles Church of God in Christ, had been appointed to the post in March after the death of G.E. Patterson. His election came during the church’s general assembly in Memphis, Tenn.

The denomination, which is celebrating its centennial, is considered the fourth-largest Protestant church in the United States, claiming 6 million members in the U.S. and abroad.

Blake said after returning to Los Angeles that he hopes to energize the church’s ministerial and charity work in Africa, while not diminishing its efforts in the U.S.

The denomination’s membership is largely African American, and Blake said that just as Jews have a special connection with Israel, African Americans can forge special ties with Africa.

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Event raises $454,000

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Thursday reported that its annual banquet, held Nov. 19 in Anaheim, helped raise $454,000 to further the council’s civil rights and advocacy work.

More than half of that total came from sponsorships, pledges and donations on the night of the banquet, which drew about 2,000 people. Munira Syeda, a group spokeswoman, said fundraising efforts would continue until the council reaches its goal of $500,000.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the nation’s first Muslim congressman, delivered the keynote address. His theme stressed the value of Muslims becoming politically and civically involved in their communities.

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theo.milonopoulos@latimes .com

steve.padilla@latimes.com

Padilla reported from Los Angeles, Milonopoulos from Baltimore.