Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, March 1995)
The encyclical of the “culture of life” (paragraph 21), condemned a growing “culture of death” in both the moral and political spheres. It addressed abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty as key issues.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (November 2002)
Authored by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), this note addressed specific questions about whether Catholic politicians who support abortion should be admitted to communion. He wrote, “those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a ‘grave and clear obligation to oppose’ any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them” (paragraph 4).

Henry Hyde, "Catholics in Public Life" in America 188/5 (Feb 17, 2003)
The prominent Catholic Republican commented on the 2002 CDF document.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility,” 2003
From the website: “Every four years since 1976, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement on the responsibilities of Catholics to society. The purpose of the statement is to communicate the Church’s teaching that every Catholic is called to an active and faith-filled citizenship, based upon a properly informed conscience, in which each disciple of Christ publicly witnesses to the Church’s commitment to human life and dignity with special preference for the poor and the vulnerable.”

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament, Redemptionis Sacramentum (Instruction On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, March 2004)
Reaffirmed the canon law doctrine that anyone in a state of sin ought not receive communion. Cardinal Francis Arinze, whose congregation issued the document, was asked whether Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights should be denied communion; his answer was “yes.”

Bishop Michael Sheridan, “On the Duties of Catholic Politicians and Voters,” May 2004
Bishop Sheridan of Colorado Springs was the first to make a strong public statement in 2004 regarding voting for a presidential candidate who supports abortion. The text has been reproduced on the “Priests For Life” website.

48 Members of the U.S. Congress, “On Denying Communion as a Sanction: Letter to a Cardinal,” May, 2004
After Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was named the chairman of a task force charged with the implementation of Redemptionis Sacramenum, 48 Catholic members of the U.S. House of Representatives, all Democrats, sent this letter to him.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, “Interim Reflections Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians,” June 15, 2004
A statement by McCarrick, the head of the task force, wrote these reflections on the role of bishops in the controversy over using communion as a sanction against Catholic politicians.

David R. Obey, “My Conscience, My Vote,” in America 191/4 (August 16, 2004)
The Democratic congressman who has represented Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1969 articulated his understanding of the relationship between his Catholic faith and his public service, partly in response to then-bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Raymond L. Burke.

Amelia J. Uelmen, “The Spirituality of Communion: A Resource for Dialogue with Catholics in Political Life,” in The Catholic Lawyer 43/289 (November 2004)
The Director of the Fordham University School of Law Institute on Religion, Law, and Lawyer’s Work parsed the “communion controversy” of the 2004 elections, drawing from recent Magisterial teachings.

55 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, "Catholic Statement of Principles," February 28, 2006. This statement is found on the website of Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Connecticut).

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Statement on the Resposibilities of Catholics in Political Life," March 10, 2006. This document responds directly to the statement of the 55 Democrats.