Source: The Associated Press

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117265,00.html

On April 16, 2004 The Associated Press reported, " The clash between a candidate's personal religious beliefs and public policy stances is getting a closer look this year in part because of increasing impatience among some Catholic leaders with politicians who claim the faith but say they don't want to legislate personal beliefs. Earlier this year, for example, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis said he would deny communion to Kerry because of his views. Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley (search) of Boston, Kerry's hometown, suggested a similar penalty for those in conflict with the church without naming the senator. The nation's Catholic bishops late last year created a task force to consider whether to recommend sanctions against Catholic politicians who favor policies contrary to church teachings. Among the options are denying access to Catholic schools or hospitals that might be used for campaign events to denying communion and seeking excommunication. The task force is headed by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick the Washington archbishop. Kerry met privately with McCarrick on Thursday for 45 minutes in what was characterized as a get-to-know-you session. It was not known whether the work of the task force came up. McCarrick declined comment on the meeting. But a few days earlier he seemed open to some sort of sanctions, if not ready to go so far as to deny communion. 'I think there are many of us who would feel that there are certain restrictions that we might put on people, that there are certain sanctions that we may put on people," he told 'Fox News Sunday.' 'But I think many of us would not like to use the Eucharist as part of the sanctions.'"