Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/election/0904nation/17archbishop.html
On September 17, 2004 Atlanta Journal Constitution reported, "abortion must outweigh every other issue for Roman Catholic voters, Atlanta's archbishop said Thursday after issuing an unusual letter telling his flock that Catholics are obligated to follow church teachings at the polls. Atlanta Archbishop John Donoghue's letter adds to the controversy over Catholic voters and candidate John Kerry... Donoghue's letter, 'On Conscientious Voting,' was posted on the archdiocese Web site and published in Thursday's edition of the diocesan newspaper, 'The Georgia Bulletin'... The archbishop, spiritual leader of North Georgia's 300,000 Catholics, wrote that he would not presume to say the faithful should vote for a specific candidate... Donoghue's letter followed the pattern of a memorandum this summer by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in allowing the possibility of a Catholic's voting for a candidate who favors abortion rights in spite of, not because of, that stance."