Bishops explain their views on
election issues as Nov. 2 approaches
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With the elections less than two weeks away, Catholic bishops took to the pages of secular and Catholic newspapers to explain their views on the key issues facing voters. While Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver and Bishop Bernard W. Schmitt of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., focused on abortion as the most important moral issue of the day, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton of Detroit said the policies of President George W. Bush were "in opposition to a culture of life" despite his stand on abortion. Bishop Kenneth A. Angell of Burlington, Vt., noted in a letter read at all Masses in Vermont Oct. 23-24 that there is "no perfect being in humanity ... no perfect politician ... no perfect leader." But he said Catholic politicians and voters both have a responsibility to learn the truth taught by the church and not to distort Catholic teaching. Comments by Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago in a recent edition of his archdiocesan newspaper centered on the church's response to Catholic politicians who support abortion. He said he had not directed anyone to refuse Communion to those politicians "because I believe it would turn the reception of holy Communion into a circus here."

Cardinal Hickey, retired archbishop of
Washington, dies at age 84
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Cardinal James A. Hickey, the retired archbishop of Washington who made Catholic education and service to the poor two of his top priorities during his years in the nation's capital, died Oct. 24 after a long illness at age 84. The cardinal was ordained a priest in 1946 and became auxiliary bishop of Saginaw, Mich., in 1967; bishop of Cleveland in 1974; and archbishop of Washington from 1980 until his retirement in 2000. "He always showed the face of the church to the poor," Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington told The Washington Post daily newspaper. "For me, that ... really summarized the whole kind of man and whole kind of vision Jim Hickey had." Cardinal McCarrick, who succeeded Cardinal Hickey in 2000 as Washington's archbishop, was scheduled to celebrate a funeral Mass for his predecessor Oct. 30 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In a telegram to Cardinal McCarrick, Pope John Paul II recalled Cardinal Hickey's "unfailing commitment to the spread of the Gospel, the teaching of the faith and the formation of future priests."

Kerry addresses faith, values, but
rejects bishops on life issues
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CNS) --- In the most pointedly religious speech of his presidential campaign, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts said Oct. 24 that his lifelong Catholic faith gives him "values to live by and apply to the decisions I make." But the talk at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale also contained a message for Catholic bishops who, Kerry said, "have suggested that as a public official I must cast votes or take public positions --- on issues like a woman's right to choose and stem-cell research --- that carry out the tenets of the Catholic Church." The Democratic candidate said, "I love my church; I respect the bishops; but I respectfully disagree." He added, "My task, as I see it, is not to write every doctrine into law. That is not possible or right in a pluralistic society." A New York Times story on the speech reported that the crowd in Fort Lauderdale shouted "No!" when Kerry spoke about "the tenets of the Catholic Church" and gave him a standing ovation when he said he disagreed. In the 2,090-word speech, Kerry mentioned the word "Catholic" only twice, but spoke about God 10 times, "faith" or "faithful" 13 times and "values" eight times.