POPE BENEDICT ON THE MORAL DUTY OF POLITICIANS

POPE BENEDICT ON THE MORAL DUTY OF POLITICIANS. Benedict's most recent 140 pages of advice for the Catholic Church include a list of his non-negotiables:

The Church's opposition to gay marriage is "non-negotiable" and Catholic politicians have a moral duty to oppose it, as well as laws on abortion and euthanasia, Pope Benedict says.

Here is the word "moral" again. Earlier today I read about General Peter Pace's views of homosexuality as immoral, and then I read that these views were his personal ones. But the same cannot be said about the Pope's views. This makes it important to understand what "a moral duty" for Catholic politicians entails. At least we are told what the consequences of failing in this duty might be:

The Pope implied local bishops could not turn a blind eye to such politicians. "Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them," he wrote.

I guess no communion to naughty politicians? They may then join with remarried Catholics and non-Catholics in being denied the Eucharist. Now imagine what might happen if Pope Benedict's list of non-negotiables keeps growing. A Catholic politician wishing to stay in the good books of the church might then become nothing more but a Vatican stamp. Wasn't this what some feared when John F. Kennedy won the presidential election?--J. Goodrich