Roman Catholic bishops can make their own decisions about whether to deny communion to politicians whose opinions differ from official church doctrine, according to a Saturday vote by the synod of Roman Catholic bishops.

The topic was known at the synod as "the American issue" because of the 2004 presidential election controversy over whether Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's pro-choice position on abortion would preclude him from receiving the sacrament.

When considering the measure, European bishops thought about Spanish politicians who earlier this year voted in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages.

Eventually the synod voted that local bishops should decide sacrament issues when it comes to politicians who showed "no coherence when they support laws that run counter to the human good, to justice and to natural law."

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, an outreach to LGBT Catholics, described the decision as "a step in the right direction for the Catholic Church. This time local bishops can decide as opposed to some edict from the Vatican."

DeBernardo said the bishop's decision built on the concept of subsidiarity, which "follows a principal that was promoted during the Second Vatican Council that helped to update the church at the local level rather than the Vatican level."

DeBernardo would not speculate which bishops would withhold communion. "I do think the danger of this is it becomes a political decision for the bishops and not a theological decision."

"The church is really using the sacrament in a way that the sacrament was never intended to be used. The sacrament is an expression of God's love and a person's faith. To use the sacrament in a political way is contrary to how the sacrament is presented," she told the PlanetOut Network.

"We certainly feel that the sacrament should not be withheld for reasons that the bishops are contemplating," she said. "We wish the church took a more reflective position. Receiving the sacrament should be open to those in good standing in the church who are not in a serious state of sin. The sacraments should not be prohibited for someone who disagrees with one of the church's positions." she concluded.

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