Yesterday, Catholic World News ran a story about how Bishop Carlson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, had censured Sen. Tom Daschle, telling him not identify himself as a Catholic in his congressional biography and campaign literature. The story had first appeared on the web site of the Weekly Standard. There was much applause for Bishop Carlson and the principled stand, apparently based on the recent doctrinal note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on how Catholic politicians cannot divorce their faith from their ideology.
But today, Bishop Carlson now says he didn’t censure Daschle and that his pastoral relationship with one of his flock is confidential.
My question is why the quick disavowal? Why is Bishop Carlson so quick to say that all is hunky-dory with a pro-abortion Catholic who rejects a large handful of Church teachings and flouts them at every turn? Why does it seem that most US bishops are afraid of distancing themselves from any Catholic Democratic politician even when there is nothing remotely Catholic about them except their baptisms?
If you go to http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org and look up Sioux Falls, you’ll find a link to the web site for the diocese and there should be a contact address there.