Abortion rights, Catholic pol, what now?

Vermont’s Bishop Kenneth Angell said this week that he wants to “establish and maintain open lines of communication” with politicians who may hold positions that differ with the church’s.

He also said he is awaiting a review by a task force of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops about how the church should deal with Catholic elected officials who have dissenting views. The panel’s chairman, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., also opposes withholding communion from those officials.

And of course….

Leahy said elected officials should be able to disagree with church teachings without being accused of being bad Catholics.

“The church is very opposed to the death penalty and I don’t question the faith of those who support the death penalty. I don’t question the beliefs of those who supported the war,” he said.