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Your insightful reply was as follows:

>Ok, here we go :)

>Item 1, state, not federal issue.

>Item 2, state, not federal issue.

>Item 3, good luck Mr. President.

>Item 4, state, not federal issue.

>Item 5, Time will tell; maybe the Russians have some insight on this one.

Whoa, Nellie! I thought you were a man of the cloth, and able as such, to look at these as moral issues.

I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you, that with all of your moralizing, you worry about technical niceties as to whether it is a state or a federal issue.

I didn't ask you whether the issues were directly addressed by the Constitution. I asked you what your own position is on these matters.

Or are you, like the Pharisees of the time of Jesus, merely a hypocrite who hides behind legal technicalities to avoid the important issues of the day? Are you the type of preacher who twists and turns the law into a pretzel for the expedient of sending an innocent man to a crucifixion?

In another time and place, would your hero have been Caiphas or St. Peter?

Let's presume -- at least for a few more moments -- that you're much closer to Peter than Caiphas. I have my suspicions, but let's see if you actually reply this time.

So I'll ask again...

Do you believe that partial birth abortions should be legal or illegal in the state or nation in which you reside?

Do you believe homosexual marriage should be legal or illegal in the state or nation in which you reside? Is marriage something that occurs between a man and a woman only? What do you, as a leader of one of Our Lord's flock -- which surely you must be if you are who you claim to be -- believe in this case?

Do you favor or oppose judicial nominees who interpret the existing Constitution rather than legislate to correct perceived defects in the Constitution?

Do you favor or oppose expansion of stem-cell research when that research involves termination of fetuses? (I'm trying to use politically correct language here, since I suspect that approach will increase your comfort level)

And regarding your position on the president's decision to topple Saddam Hussein, I didn't ask the Russians. I asked you. What do YOU think of it?

So, reverend, don't be a Pharisee. Avoid hypocrisy, if you can. Be a real man of the cloth and speak your mind.

-George