Friday, August 6, 2004
By The Associated Press
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In Charlotte, Pat Cotham of St. Matthew Catholic Church said, "To me, it is hypocritical for the bishops to select abortion and not birth control or capital punishment as a litmus test for communion. I don't remember Jesus talking about politics at the Last Supper, which was the first Mass and first communion."
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Gov. Mike Easley, the state's top Catholic politician, has said that although he is not pro-abortion, he supports Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that guarantees the right to the procedure. Easley's spokeswoman, Cari Boyce, said his relationship with his church was private. But Easley is a communicant in the Raleigh diocese, where Bishop Joseph Gossman said it's up to each person who comes forward for communion to judge his or her own soul.
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State Rep. Joanne Bowie, R-Guilford, is a Catholic from Greensboro, which is in the Charlotte diocese. She said she can't recall ever casting a vote on an issue related to abortion. While saying she intends to continue taking communion, she said it's no one's business whether she supports a woman's right to an abortion.
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Cotham challenged the church to do more than single out politicians who support abortion rights. "I do not see a concentrated effort to help pregnant women who are often facing dire situations and difficult decisions," she said in an e-mail. "It is easy for someone to say he/she is pro-life, but it is more difficult to welcome an AIDS baby into one's home or give thousands of dollars to help a woman in distress."
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