WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - A national pro-life association for Catholic priests today warned politicians that being pro-abortion in their policy stances is not an option for Catholics.

    Priests for Life said the US bishops had been clear on the issue in a November 1998 statement. "As Americans, as Catholics and as pastors of our people, we write therefore today to call our fellow citizens back to our country's founding principles, and most especially to renew our national respect for the rights of those who are unborn, weak, disabled, and terminally ill," the bishops wrote.

    The group said those who hold or seek elected office, proclaiming to be Catholic while holding "pro-choice" views are risking confusion and scandal for lay Catholics who live the Church's teachings. "No law says you have to be Catholic. But if you publicly declare that you are, don't be surprised if someone criticizes inconsistencies between your public positions and the teachings of the Church," the group warned.

    Priests for Life also said its members will refuse to be intimidated by those who tell them that they should not "meddle in politics" when they denounce the evil of abortion or otherwise proclaim the Gospel. "Politics is not an arena which can absolve itself of responsibility to moral laws; nor can the Church absolve herself of the responsibility to teach those laws," they said.