Catholic Church officials and pro-life activists are defending La Crosse Bishop Raymond Burke’s order to withhold the sacraments from Catholic lawmakers who support abortion or euthanasia, claiming it is a necessary motion for upholding Catholic law.

In a pastoral letter made public Jan. 8, Burke ordered priests in the 19-county La Crosse diocese to bar any politicians who advocate pro-choice policies from receiving Holy Communion. He also condemned contraceptive use, claiming it works as “the port of entry for the culture of death.”

“So often Catholics fail to act against abortion and euthanasia with the appropriate energy because they have compromised the church’s teaching on the procreative end of marriage by accepting artificial birth control,” Burke said.

Prior to publishing his decree, the bishop sent State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wausau, private letters warning them that their political views pose a serious threat to the safety of their souls. According to Burke, church doctrine clearly mandates that Catholics support pro-life policies.

Some church leaders in the La Crosse diocese claim that Burke is acting as a spiritual leader to those members of his “flock” who are violating church doctrine by supporting pro-choice politics.

“He has a responsibility to the spiritual life of these legislators,” Dr. Arthur Hippler, director of the Office of Justice and Peace for the La Crosse Diocese, said. “Their souls are at stake. It is done out of love.”

Burke’s letters have provoked an uproar across the state, causing several Democratic legislators to condemn the bishop’s actions as violating the separation of church and state.

“Dictating public policy for people of all faiths by holding sacraments hostage from those who believe does not sound right,” Senate Minority Leader Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said.

But defenders of Burke say the church must come to the rescue of innocent life by condemning those who act inconsistently with social-justice standards and Catholic teachings. Many claim Burke acted out of a “basic civic responsibility” to unite morality with public life, equating Burke’s denouncement of pro-choice politicians to the church’s past condemnation of politicians who supported racial segregation.

“The difficulty at present is many Catholics are confused about the separation of church and state,” Hippler said. “That cannot mean the separation of faith from life.”

Peggy Hamill, director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said Bishop Burke did not violate the separation of church and state. Rather, he took the necessary steps needed to protect the Catholic Church from being “scandalized” by Catholic lawmakers acting contradictory to the tenants of their faith, she said.

“Bishop Burke is simply exercising his right to freedom of religion in a responsible way,” Hamill said.

Father Randy Timmerman, pastor of St. Paul’s Catholic Center on State Street, also agrees that Burke’s actions do not cross the divide between church and state and are well within his authority as bishop. Nevertheless, Timmerman said the La Crosse bishop’s behavior was not the kind of pastoral stance he would take.

Burke is scheduled to assume the position of the archbishop of St. Louis Jan. 26.