There are Catholics in full communion with the Pope and the Catholic Church and there are "cafeteria Catholics" who pick and choose what they want to believe and practice. The term "Cafeteria Christians" refers to people who view Christianity like a cafeteria where one picks and chooses only those beliefs that appeal to them and reject a genuine interpretation of Christian doctrine and the teachings of Jesus. The term "Cafeteria Catholics" is similar. It is used to describe people who dissent from certain teachings of the Catholic Church while maintaining an outward identity as Catholics. In Los Angeles in 1987, Pope John Paul II said: "It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the magisterium is totally compatible with being a "good Catholic," and poses no obstacle to the reception of the Sacraments. This is a grave error that challenges the teaching of the Bishops in the United States and elsewhere." Heresy is the obstinate denial after Baptism of a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith. "Cafeteria Catholics" in denial of certain truths are in danger of committing heresy. With love in Christ.

A Catholic cannot be pro-choice. Aiding somebody in attaining an abortion is grounds for excommunication. Sadly enough though I see Catholics all the time saying they are voting for pro-choice candidates. Their logic is "there are much larger issues." Me personally, abortion is one of, if not the largest issue the world is facing today. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of babies are slaughtered annually by this barbaric practice.

Pro-Choice doesn't imply a religious belief. Many deeply spiritual people may believe that abortion is morally wrong on religious grounds, but feel the government must not mandate religious beliefs. Many religious people feel that masturbation and adultery are also deeply wrong, but there are not people in the streets demanding governments legislate against masturbation or adultery... It is reasonable that a Catholic says: I don't believe the choice to abort is ever the right choice, but I don't believe a government should meddle in this difficult decision. Abortion is a very sticky issue and it is difficult to pin it to a precise statement. Even the doctrines of the Church on abortion state it is immoral to cause an abortion where a continuation of pregnancy definitively risks the life of the mother... When you get into the nuts-and-bolts of this teaching, you'll find an "escape clause" - that it is allowable to treat the mother, even if you know the treatment will destroy the life of the fetus, provided the treatment is not a DIRECT attack against the fetus... So, even if you know the chemotherapy will CAUSE an abortion, it is permissible to allow chemotherapy, as it is not considered abortion... semantics, in my book. here's a cite: halfway down the page. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01046b.htm In the end, abortion is a very sticky issue seen in a very wide gradient of grays... it is easy to be black and white in the abstract, but when faced with the problem in real life, it is a difficult enough decision to make without government sticking it's "bureaucracy" in the middle of things...