Many Democratic politicians in New England say they oppose abortion but have voted for abortion rights.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Members of Congress from southern New England are largely Catholic and predominantly in favor of abortion rights, but church officials in the region said Friday they would not deny Communion to the politicians, despite the latest pronouncement from the Vatican.

Instead, they said, the Catholics must police themselves and seek guidance from their spiritual leaders to see the error in their abortion views.

The latest tremors in the region’s Catholic community came after a top Vatican cardinal said Friday that priests must deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

In Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, Catholic politicians abound – two of the three governors, four of the six senators, and at least 12 of the 19 U.S. House members are Catholic. And while many say they personally oppose abortion, they have voted for abortion rights.

And they will continue, several said, to practice their faith.

“This an opinion by one member in the Vatican circle …. but he’s not speaking for the Pope. That’s a major difference,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., whose brother, President John F. Kennedy, was America’s first and only Catholic president. “I’m a very strong believer in the separation of church and state, as President Kennedy spoke to, and I continue to follow my own beliefs and will continue to serve the people of Massachusetts.”

He and other Catholic politicians will get little opposition from their dioceses.

Boston Archbishop Sean O’Malley “does not hold to the practice of publicly refusing Communion to anyone,” said archdiocese spokesman Rev. Christopher Coyne. Instead, he said it was up to the individual to decide whether or not to receive Communion.

Religious leaders were emphatic about their opposition to abortion and said that Catholics should not take Communion if they don’t abide by church tenets.

“If a politician does not believe abortion is wrong, then he or she is not in concert with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and that person should not be receiving Communion,” said Rev. John Gatzak, spokesman for the Hartford diocese, where Reps. John Larson and Rosa DeLauro, both Catholic Democrats who support abortion rights, live. “But that is up to the politician. Priests give the benefit of the doubt to the individuals coming forward.”

And Bridgeport Bishop William Lori, during his weekly radio show, said the church is not yet at the point where it will deny politicians Communion based on their policy stands. But, he said, the Catholic politicians should simply not seek to receive the Eucharist.

He and bishops in Providence, R.I., and Worcester, Mass., noted there was a task force headed by Washington Archbishop Theodore McCarrick looking into how the church should treat such politicians.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who attended Catholic schools, still goes to church and receives Communion, supports abortion rights and will not change his political ways.

“The congressman fully respects the church’s right and need to advance its beliefs and its agenda among its community, but that does not influence his duty to represent his constituents in what he believes to be the best way possible,” said spokesman Ernesto Anguilla.

The issue, which has bubbled up before in election politics, came up when Cardinal Francis Arinze, speaking from the Vatican, said Friday that a Catholic politician who supports abortion rights “is not fit” to receive the Eucharist. When asked, he stopped short of saying whether Democratic presidential contender John Kerry of Massachusetts should receive Communion. But his comments could put more pressure on U.S. bishops to sanction Catholic politicians whose positions are at odds with the church.

In response Kerry delivered an unabashed defense of abortion rights and said the country deserves “a president who understands that a stronger America is where women’s rights are just that: rights, not political weapons to be used by politicians of this nation.”

Darrell West, a Brown University political science professor, said pressing the issue would only create sympathy for the politicians.

“This is an example of the church playing hardball,” he said. “In America, we have separation of church and state. Many rank and file Catholics are actually pro-choice and they don’t like the church being heavy-handed in how it deals with politicians.”

While a high percentage of residents in southern New England are Catholic, many also support abortion rights, according to polls. In a 2000 Connecticut survey by Quinnipiac University, 72 percent said they were opposed to overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision granting women the right to have an abortion.

Rhode Island is the country’s most Catholic state, with 63 percent of the people identifying with that religion, according to the Catholic Almanac. In Massachusetts, the number is about 50 percent, and in Connecticut it is about 42 percent.

AP-ES-04-23-04 1844EDT