Bunch o’ Democrats write letter.

Forty-eight Roman Catholic members of Congress who are Democrats have signed a letter to the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, D.C., saying that the threats by some bishops to deny communion to politicians who support abortion rights are “deeply hurtful,” counterproductive and “miring the church in partisan politics.”
The letter is the first organized counter-punch by Democratic legislators since a handful of Catholic bishops set off an uproar in the church by declaring that they would withhold communion from politicians who favor abortion rights.

The legislators who signed the letter, including about a dozen who are considered anti-abortion Democrats, said that the bishops are “allowing the church to be used for partisan purposes.” They also question why these bishops made abortion a litmus test while ignoring politicians who voted counter to the church by endorsing the death penalty and the war in Iraq.

The WaPo version

One of the signers with a solidly antiabortion voting record, Rep. Bart Stupak (Mich.), said in an interview that bishops “are making these statements thinking they’re undermining the candidacy of John Kerry, when what they’re really undermining is the Catholic church.”

Stupak added that he has been surprised by the partisanship of some bishops.

“I’ve had some threaten not to give Communion to me, even though they don’t know my position, just because I’m a Democrat,” he said. “I’ve had cardinals refuse to shake my hand because I’m a Democrat, and then somebody whispers to them that, ‘No, no, he’s a good guy.’ ”

Another antiabortion legislator, Rep. James R. Langevin (R.I.), said that “while I agree with [the bishops] on the pro-life issue, I don’t agree with them on denying Communion to those who in good conscience have come to a different position. . . . These are complicated, emotional issues that each of us has wrestled with, and it’s not helpful for the church to be punitive or to approach these issues in this heavy-handed way.”