Bishops overstep their boundaries

RE "CATHOLIC bishops warn Obama they'll fight on abortion," (Page A12, Nov. 12): The bishops' decision to lobby in Washington against abortion, seeking the enactment of laws based on religious belief, would affect all families, not just Catholics.

Worse, many bishops demand that Catholics in public office oppose abortion, under threat of excommunication, and that Catholics vote against politicians who support abortion. Here the bishops go too far: they exert religious pressure on officials, trying to force them to act against their own view of what policies are best for all the people. The bishops don't honor the belief of many that an embryo is not a baby, just as an acorn is not an oak tree.

The bishops have lost sight of an important reality. For decades, many Americans distrusted Catholic politicians for fear that they would not be independent of the Catholic hierarchy. John F. Kennedy was elected only after promising not to take dictation from the Vatican.

Non-Catholics are under no requirement to follow Catholic doctrine. The public must expect elected officials, including Catholics, to act in the interest of all the public - and the bishops should accept this as necessary in a democracy.

JACK BARTHEL
Uxbridge