Cardinal says some officials to be denied honors

NEWTON -- Catholic bishops are about to begin a series of meetings with leaders of Catholic colleges, hospitals, and social-service agencies to discuss the most effective way to withhold honors from politicians who support abortion rights or have other major doctrinal differences with the church, an influential American cardinal said last night at Boston College.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, said a task force he heads will seek to ensure that an agreement by the bishops to withhold such honors is enforced consistently and nationally. The plan to withhold the honors followed last year's decision by the bishops not to take a collective position on whether to allow Catholics who support abortion rights, such as Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, to receive Communion.

In an interview before his speech, McCarrick said he will argue that politicians who disagree with church teachings should be allowed to speak at Catholic colleges but should not receive honorary degrees. He said he decided in his own diocese, where many members of Congress worship, not to attempt to deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, because ''I do not believe there is a place for confrontation at the altar."

McCarrick, who is one of 11 American cardinals eligible to vote in the next papal election, said in the interview that he expects the ailing John Paul II to remain pope ''as long as he feels he can continue to serve the church."

McCarrick, who is chairman of the bishops' Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians, visited Boston College yesterday to deliver the inaugural Canisius Lecture for the college's Jesuit Institute.

In his talk, he rued what he described as the political and cultural division in American society today and said it is important that the Catholic Church be nonpartisan but clear in its beliefs.

McCarrick strongly defended the bishops against criticism from antiabortion activists. ''A bishop could not be accused of being unfaithful to his pastoral responsibility" for refusing to deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights, he said.

He stressed the importance of bishops speaking on issues beyond abortion, such as poverty, education, and healthcare. He said abortion is a primary issue for the Catholic Church, but not the only issue, because, ''the Lord didn't stop there, and the pope doesn't stop there, and the church cannot stop there."

The cardinal adamantly supported the church's antiabortion stance and called on the Democratic Party to make more room for Catholics who oppose abortion rights. In particular, he said it is wrong for US senators to oppose judicial nominees based solely on their opposition to abortion.

''We do not want to be disenfranchised because we believe what the church teaches," he said.

McCarrick called for an ''inclusiveness that will not disbar any distinguished lawyer from judicial appointment just because he wants to protect the right to life of little babies in their mother's wombs."

The cardinal said he is encouraged by polls after the last election showing voters concerned about moral issues.

''The fact that a significant part of the electorate has spoken of their desire to have the government support moral values has now become something which not only bishops, but men and women in political life, must take into consideration," he said. ''Maybe we are entering a new stage when people who believe in those fundamental principles on which our society was based will learn how to articulate them better and to insist that those in public office do the same."

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.