Source: Bangor Daily News

http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm?ID=425493

On July 9, 2004 the Bangor Daily News reported,"The spiritual leader of Maine's 234,000 Roman Catholics has never denied Holy Communion to anyone - and he doesn't intend to start now. That includes elected officials who don't vote according to church teachings on controversial issues such as abortion and assisted suicide, Bishop Richard Malone said recently... Malone was one of 183 bishops who voted for the statement released last month in Denver after the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which comprises all of Maine's parishes. In their statement, the bishops declared that politicians who support legal abortion are 'cooperating in evil' and should not be given 'awards, honors or platforms that would suggest support for their actions.' They stopped short of saying that such politicians should be turned away from Communion, leaving intact the status quo, which is that each bishop is free to set the policy in his diocese."