So I re-enter the Communion Controversy by pointing you to Terry Mattingly at Get Religion, who examines the failure of reporters to bring doctrinal issues into their coverage of this story:

For journalists, it is clear that the next major news hook is when the bishops gather behind closed doors on June 14 in Colorado for several days of prayer, Bible study and tension you could cut with a knife. Once again, this is not a story about the division of church and state. It’s about the division of doctrine and sacraments. It’s important, for example, that the bishops are supposed to be preparing a major statement on Catholic life and the Eucharist. It may end up being more important than the upcoming statement on Catholics in politics.

What many of the bishops seem to be saying goes something like this: People who do what Kerry is doing are placing their souls at risk, but it would be wrong for bishops to try to stop them.

And a commentor links to this piece in the Cleveland paper, which lays it all out:

From that day forward, Catholic liberal politicians have flourished by being personally on one side of an issue and publicly on the other side. And since the rest of us have let them get away with it, we’re just as much to blame as they are for allowing even encouraging the admission of a lack of integrity to become a political selling point.

Now a few brave bishops have wearied of these Pontius Pilate imitations remember, he voted for Jesus before he voted against him, and personally, he still didn’t see anything wrong with the poor guy as he sent him up the hill to be crucified. These bishops are demanding that Catholics make a grown-up choice: Is Catholicism your faith or just your label? It’s a fair question and, yes, indeed, it applies to every Catholic, not just the politicians.