Dear Richard:

Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have stated that politicians need to adhere to Church teaching in their political life.

The most recent document published by Benedict XVI is SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS. I excerpted the pertinent passages for your convenience:

83. Here it is important to consider what the Synod Fathers described as eucharistic consistency, a quality which our lives are objectively called to embody. Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others: it demands a public witness to our faith. Evidently, this is true for all the baptized, yet it is especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms. These values are not negotiable. Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature. There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist (cf. 1 Cor 11:27-29). Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them.

The Pope is telling the bishops, in Vaticanese, that even politicians are to adhere to the Church teaching and they, the bishops, are to BOUND to enforce this with the appropriate measures (which include denying the Eucharist to public sinners).

The full text of this document can be found on the Vatican Site.

Previously, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (in 2002) issued a document on this matter which was signed off by Pope John Paul II. A copy of this instruction can be found here.

In addition, Pope Pope John-Paul  in 2000 declared St. Thomas More the patron saint for politicians. The implication is clear -- Thomas More was martyred by the King because he, as a politician, refused to support the King on a matter that violated Church teaching. This document is found here.

There is no question that Catholic politicians are bound to follow Church teaching and are specifically to endorse legislation that supports the Culture of Life. As to who decides when a politician is denied the Eucharist, that responsibility duly belongs to the pastor of the diocese, the Bishop. It is not appropriate for the Pope to usurp that role that properly belongs to the Bishop. It is up to the Bishops to do their job: "Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them."

This brings up another subject, which I will not get into right now, except to say that the Pope is not a dictator. He is the supreme authority, but we must remember that the Bishop receives his authority not from the Pope but directly from God. The Bishop is the "pope of his diocese" and as such has ultimate authority over pastoral and other matters not inconsistent with the universal teaching and discipline of the Church and her Supreme Pontiff, or otherwise reserved to the Holy See.

Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have done their jobs to explain and teach the faith and remind the Bishops of their duty. Now, let us see if the Bishops will fulfill their obligations.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary