Washington D.C., Sep 8, 2004 / 22:00 pm
An official from the US Bishops Communications Office told Catholic News Agency that the “Presidential Questionnaire,” delivered some weeks ago to both the Bush and Kerry campaigns, was not withdrawn due to pro-life criticism - as some pro-life groups have claimed – but simply “not published.”
David Early of the USCCB Communications office stated that the USCCB “decided not to publish the results of the questionnaire because neither of the candidates responded to it before the deadline.”
It was hoped that the questionnaire would help Catholic voters in deciding which candidate to vote for by showing how much their campaigns were in line with Catholic teaching.
Pro-life groups slammed the questionnaire for giving equal weighting to issues which, according to Catholic teaching, are not of equal importance. According to Austin Ruse, president of the Culture of Life Foundation, “it improperly equates doctrinal issues like abortion with judgment calls like the minimum wage.”