Wisconsin Pro-Abortion Attorney Tells Diocese to Block Pro-Life Voter’s Guides 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 26, 2004
LaCrosse, WI (LifeNews.com) — An attorney with a Catholic diocese in Wisconsin told church leaders to prohibit the distribution of a pro-life voter’s guide for the upcoming elections. According to news reports, the attorney is a longtime donor to candidates who favor abortion.
A Catholic World News report on Tuesday revealed that James Birnbaum, who acts as an attorney for the Catholic diocese of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, has given thousands in donations to pro-abortion candidates.
Birnbaum recently sent a letter to pastors and church officials telling them to block the distribution of Catholic Answer’s "Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics."
The 10-page voter’s guide cites Vatican documents showing that candidates who support abortion, euthanasia, human cloning or embryonic stem cell research should be disqualified from receiving the votes of faithful Catholics.
The voter’s guides should not be distributed "on your parish grounds or during your parish activities," Birnbaum wrote.
Though Birnbaum cited a tax law, that others dispute would be broken if the church allowed the guides to be disseminated, CWN reports that his real motivation against the guides may be because of his support for pro-abortion candidates.
Birnbaum has donated $6,500 to pro-abortion Congressman Ronald Kind, a Democrat who has only a 9% pro-life voting record according to the National Right to Life Committee. Birnbaum sent Kind donations as recently as March and June of this year.
CWN reports that Birnbaum has also made donations to the campaigns of Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, who has a strong pro-abortion voting record and co-sponsored a campaign finance proposal pro-life groups opposed because it restricts their activities, and to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, who has spoken at Planned Parenthood fundraisers.
Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis is the former Bishop of the La Crosse diocese, which is now without a leader since Burke has not yet been replaced.
Burke drew national attention as one of the first Catholic leaders to say he would deny communion to elected officials and candidates that support abortion. He said he would not offer the Christian sacrament to presidential candidate John Kerry.
This isn’t the first time the Catholic Answer’s voter’s guides have been the subject of dispute.
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), a pro-abortion group claiming to be Catholic, filed a complaint with the IRS to withdraw the charitable tax status of the apologetics group Catholic Answers for publishing what it claims is a partisan voter guide.
The 10-page voter’s guide cites Vatican documents showing that candidates who support abortion, euthanasia, human cloning or embryonic stem cell research should be disqualified from receiving the votes of faithful Catholics.
Keating told the Culture of Life Foundation in an interview that his voter’s guide "does not violate any tax rules" and that the group had legal experts verify that it met IRS requirements.
"In the voter’s guide, we don’t mention any candidates, any specific election, or any party, and we don’t endorse or oppose anyone," Keating said. We merely state the principles that real Catholics are obligated to abide by when voting."
Related web sites:
Catholic Answers – https://www.catholic.com
