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	Dallas' Catholic Bishop on Priests Publicly Politicking: Don't By Jeffrey Weiss Dallas Morning News June 6, 2008 http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/dallas-catholic-bishop-on-prie.html So we've had a Chicago priest reprimanded by his bishop for dissing Clinton in support of Obama at a Protestant church. And a New York priest whose bishop has had no public reaction to him dissing Obama in favor of McCain from the podium of the state GOP confab. The differences aren't surprising. While outsiders view the Catholic Church as sharply hierarchical, the truth is that individual bishops have astonishing autonomy. Archbishops and Vatican agencies can exert influence, but the management chart for every bishop has a single solid line -- straight to the Pope. I wondered whether Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has offered guidance to his priests on this subject of public partisan politicking. The answer at the jump. (Hint: Just say no.) Dallas Diocese communications director Annette Gonzales Taylor tells us exactly what we want to know: I can tell you that Bishop Farrell has, on numerous occasions, instructed our priests that they are never to campaign for any candidate or party from the pulpit or in a public venue. He stresses that the Catholic Church does not promote or get involved in politics except to preach the Gospel message and Catholic doctrine. We encourage Catholics to read the document from the U.S. Catholic Bishops (USCCB) entitled, Faithful Citizenship which can be found at http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/ in their effort to make their own decisions. Which sounds more like the way Cardinal Francis George of Chicago has reacted to the Rev. Michael Pfleger than the way Bishop William Murphy of the diocese of Rockville Centre has reacted to Msgr. Jim Lisante.
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