MONTGOMERY (AP) — When Alabamians file into churches today, they'll likely receive another large dose of the Terri Schiavo debate.

Alabama's Christian leaders from several denominations said Schiavo's death Thursday would not end right-to-life sermons any time soon and they would continue to engage their congregants with moral issues that surrounded her last days at a Florida hospice.

"I'm certain that this issue will be talked about this today and for a long time to come. This is a very critical spiritual and social issue and there's a lot to be said," said the Rev. Daniel Sparks, an Anglican priest from Birmingham and a member of the Alabama Clergy Council, which represents an interdenominational network of 50 Christian leaders in the state.

"Any minister who cannot fulfill his responsibility of leading in one of the most basic Christian issues should not be leading at all," Sparks said.

Sparks was one of hundreds of protesters who opposed the court-ordered removal of Schiavo's feeding tube outside her hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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