The most senior Catholic Cardinal in the United States, Timothy Dolan, is to give the Benediction at next week's Republican Party National Convention on the night that Mitt Romney accepts the party's presidential nomination.A spokesman for Cardinal Dolan, who is Archbishop of New York, has rejected claims that the appearance amounts to an endorsement of Mr Romney.
Cardinal Dolan's archdiocese is one of 40 Catholic organisations suing the US government over a health law that requires lawyers to provide birth control as part of their employees' health plan.
Mr Romney is also opposed to the law, calling it an attack on religious freedom.