N.Y. Priest Courts Controversy With Pro-Romney Message

A Manhattan parish priest raised an outcry among Catholics earlier this month when he included an endorsement for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in his church’s weekly bulletin, writes The New York Times

The Rev. John A. Farren turned over much of his page in the Church of St. Catherine of Siena bulletin to a letter by six former ambassadors to the Vatican who urged a “full-hearted effort to elect Gov. Mitt Romney” because of his opposition to abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and the requirement in the new health-care law that insurance companies cover contraception.

The bulletin included a note from Father Farren stating, “I am aware that I and no church authority may endorse candidates for political office.” The Internal Revenue Service prohibits tax-exempt entities from “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign,” including “distributing statements prepared by others” that favor or oppose a candidate.

The publication prompted more than 20,000 people to sign a protest petition to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of the New York Archdiocese, and opened a window into a larger debate among Catholics about how the church engages in social and cultural issues.

A subsequent issue of the St. Catherine bulletin included a note from the church’s pastor, the Rev. Jordan Kelly, calling the reprinting of the ambassadors’ letter “an unfortunate error in judgment.”