VATICAN CITY, Oct 25 (AFP) - The Vatican, to which 65 million American Roman Catholics look for spiritual guidance, said Monday it would take no position on the two candidates in next week's US presidential election.
"The Holy See has never entered into, nor does it intend to, the merits of political choice as far as the American presidential elections are concerned," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.
The spokesman was responding to a question from a journalist about whether the Vatican considered it legitimate for a Roman Catholic to vote for John Kerry, even though he supported US abortion laws.
"It ultimately falls to the local hierarchy, if they think it necessary, to clarify the ethical elements and allow (voters) to form a moral judgement" in their choice of candidate, Navarro-Valls told reporters.
He was speaking at a press conference called by the Vatican to publicise a new 320-page document on social norms and morals, "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Roman Catholics represent around 23 percent of the population of the United States, mostly of Irish, Italian, Polish and Latin-American origin.
10/25/2004 15:30 GMT - AFP