Ohio Catholic bishops neutral on Issue 1. Columbus Bishop Fernandes' stance is less clear

Some Catholic clergy in the Columbus diocese are telling their parishioners that Bishop Earl Fernandes is encouraging a "yes" vote on Ohio Issue 1, even though officially, the Catholic Bishops of Ohio have stated that they do not have a position on the ballot measure "as it does not have moral content."

Issue 1, which will be voted on during the special election Aug. 8, would make it more difficult to change the state constitution by requiring a 60% majority of voters to pass a constitutional amendment and by requiring petitioners to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters in every county, among other measures.

While some Catholic churches in Greater Columbus have remained neutral on the vote, others have told their parishioners a "yes" vote is important in order to block another constitutional amendment ballot measure, enshrining abortion rights, from passing in November.

Some churches have even said the bishop encourages such a vote.

"The Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Earl Fernandes, encourages Catholics to vote 'Yes' on Issue 1," said an official July 23 bulletin from St. Peter Roman Catholic Church on Columbus' Northwest Side. "Passing Issue 1 will help to defeat a proposed Constitutional amendment in November that would expand and enshrine abortion in our state ... For this reason, Bishop Fernandes asks you to vote 'Yes' on Issue 1."

St. Brendan Church in Hilliard shared an identical message in a July 26 email to parishioners, and during services at St. Matthew Church in Gahanna on July 23, Deacon Christopher Walsh said that "the bishop has authorized us to encourage our parishioners to vote 'Yes' on Issue 1."

However, a spokesperson for the diocese told The Dispatch that "the Diocese of Columbus, like the other dioceses across Ohio, does not have an official stance on Issue 1."

Fernandes "has indicated to pastors that if they wished to do so, they could encourage their parishioners that if they wanted to, they could vote for Issue 1 in good conscience," spokesperson Jason Mays said.

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, the church's state lobbying arm, said that Ohio bishops had collectively decided to remain neutral because Issue 1 "does not have moral content but merely proposes procedural changes to amend the Ohio Constitution."

"The Catholic Conference of Ohio, in collaboration with the Ohio dioceses, encouraged and equipped parishes to hold non-partisan voter registration drives," said Hickey. "Individual Catholic parishes are under their respective dioceses, so I can’t comment on their advocacy relative to Issue 1."

While the Catholic Conference of Ohio remains neutral on Issue 1, it is mobilizing to oppose the November ballot measure on abortion.

The Columbus Diocese has given $200,000 to Protect Women Ohio, a group focused on defeating the abortion measure on the November ballot that also supports voting yes on Issue 1. (The Cleveland Diocese has also donated $200,000 to the group, and the Cincinnati Archdiocese gave $500,000, according to campaign finance reports.)

Fernandes has implied that supporting abortion rights in the November election could be a "mortal sin."

"Some ... said that if one does not vote 'No' in November one commits a mortal sin, and that the Church should not be telling people how to vote. Is this the case? As a moral theologian, I can say that one commits a mortal sin, when there is grave matter involved; when one knows the Church’s teaching or the truth of the matter; and one freely chooses the evil anyway. How you vote is a matter of your conscience and will involve your freedom; however, conscience is informed by Scripture, Tradition; the Magisterium of the Church; and reason," Fernandes wrote in a recent issue of the Catholic Times, the Columbus Diocese's official paper.

While many Catholics consider themselves to be "pro-life," parishioners' views do not always align with those of the clergy.

Seventy-six percent of U.S. Catholics say abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others, according to a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center. One in 10 say abortion should be illegal in all cases, while a similar share (13%) believe that abortion should be legal in all cases, without exceptions, according to the same study.

Peter Gill covers immigration, new American communities and religion for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at:bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.

pgill@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Catholic diocese gives mixed messages around Ohio Issue 1