2-November-2004 -- Catholic World News Brief
Boston, Nov. 02 (CWNews.com) - The Catholic
bishops of Massachusetts-- the home state of Democratic presidential hopeful
John Kerry-- have issued a public statement saying that the right to life should
be the central issue in voters' decisions.
Listing the right to life as the primary concern for Catholic voters, the
bishops of the four Massachusetts dioceses said: "We must, therefore,
oppose on both moral and legal grounds, abortion, assisted suicide, and
euthanasia." The bishops also voiced their opposition to the use of the
death penalty.
On another hotly contested issue-- in light of the state court ruling that
required the legal recognition of "marriage" by same-sex couples-- the
Massachusetts bishops affirmed that "marriage should be protected by law
and public policy as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman."