Res Publica 2005

Catholic Answers is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that does not take positions on political candidates, parties, or campaigns. It confines itself to explaining the teaching of the Catholic Church on a wide variety of issues, including the moral obligations of Catholics regarding political involvement.

What follows is a statement by Karl Keating, president and founder of Catholic Answers.

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In a brazen attempt to silence anyone who opposes legalized child-killing in America, the nation’s leading pro-abortion Catholic—Frances Kissling of Catholics For a Free Choice—has launched a full-scale attack on Catholic Answers for publishing the Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics. On September 20, 2004, Kissling and CFFC filed a “complaint” with the IRS, claiming erroneously that our voter’s guide violates tax rules governing non-profit charitable organizations.

And—get this—she’s going to try to STOP US from running the voter’s guide as a full-page ad in USA Today!

In fact, our voter’s guide does not violate any tax rules. We had it thoroughly checked out by legal experts, and we’re well within the law. 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. We merely state the principles that real Catholics are obligated to abide by when voting.

But Frances Kissling, who accuses us of “selective interpretation of Catholic doctrine,” is steaming mad over our voter’s guide. She knows how effective it is. She knows what it will do when 4.8 million people read it in USA Today. And she knows that if she’s going to “protect abortion rights,” she has to keep Catholics confused about what the Church teaches on abortion.

But we’re not going to let her.

We’re going to fight Frances Kissling all the way. This is a blatant attempt at intimidation, and we will not be intimidated. It is an attempt to squelch our First Amendment rights, and we will not be silenced. If the IRS follows up on her frivolous complaint, we will be thoroughly vindicated.

We will never back down—especially not when we’re threatened by this devious organization that has the gall to call itself “Catholic.”

We fully expect that our supporters will step forward and enable us to do exactly what Frances Kissling doesn’t want us to do: Reach 4.8 million Americans through our full-page ad in USA Today.

Read it and weep, Frances.

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Earlier this year Catholic Answers published its Voters Guide for Serious Catholics, which identified five non-negotiable issues on which Church teaching has been adamant: No Catholic can support abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning, or homosexual “marriage.” Over two million copies of the voters guide are in print as of this date. On August 31 the text of this voters guide was placed as a full-page ad in selected editions of USA Today. The organization hopes to run it in all editions of USA Today this October. Following the original placement of the voters guide in USA Today, Frances Kissling of the anti-life group “Catholics for a Free Choice” filed a frivolous complaint with the IRS.


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