Giving or refusing Communion

Some weeks back we highlighted a situation in the United States where a bishop or two publicly stated that they would refuse Communion to certain politicians who support abortion legislation. The issue is heating up in the US because Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, the Democratic candidate for President, also supports legal abortion.

The Catholic News Service, a US-based agency, made a follow-up to the issue by taking the comments of several European bishops on the issue. CNS found that these bishops would be very hesitant to announce publicly that a Catholic politician could not receive the Eucharist because of a political stand, even in favour of legalised abortion.

Most of the bishops and observers said a complex web of practical and pastoral considerations would lead them to shy away from such a ban.

Bishops in Britain would "absolutely not" take the route of announcing a ban on Communion to politicians voting contrary to Church teaching, said Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff, Wales, chairman of the bishops' Department of Christian Responsibility and Citizenship.

"Bishops have to be very careful about making public statements about an individual," Archbishop Smith said. "We do not believe it is our task to tell MPs how to vote, although we hope and expect that they would bring their faith to bear on the political decisions they are asked to make," he said.

Even when a politician supports something as clearly immoral as abortion, the archbishop said, "I am not sure denying the Eucharist is the right way to go. You do not know why they voted the way they voted.

"Our task as bishops is to state very clearly the teaching of the Catholic Church, but it would be very wrong to dictate to a Catholic politician how to vote," he said.

Italian Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, said: "People here would not understand a bishop doing such a thing. Faith is one thing. Legislation is another." In drafting and passing laws, he said, success usually means compromise and often means accepting a "lesser evil," trying to restrict practices the Church considers immoral rather than refusing to participate and lose all influence. Announcing that a politician cannot receive Communion "is a pastoral choice which I would not make", he said. "It does not make sense to me to use a sacrament to make a statement or judgment."

Fr Dominique Thierry, spokesman for the diocese of Metz, France, said the French bishops expect Catholic politicians to uphold their faith in public. "Politicians should normally do everything to ensure their political vision and actions conform with their faith," he said. But Fr Thierry said the refusal of Communion raised "difficult and delicate questions.

"If a politician says he is for abortion in conscience, but also wishes to take Communion, we would show there's an objective contradiction between the two positions and encourage him to see the variety of choices open to him."

Anthony Cole, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, said there are about 100 British MPs who say they are Catholic, but not all of them are "reliable voters" on Catholic issues. Those who vote contrary to the Church, he said, "usually excuse themselves on the grounds that they are 'representing their constituents' or 'that Parliament has already decided this'.

"We would not think it our duty to report individuals, as our modus operandi is respect and courtesy to all," although attempts would be made to discuss the issues with the individual politician, Cole said.

"It is hard to think of any of our bishops who would confront someone at the altar rails or in the media, nor am I aware of this happening," he added. Archbishop Smith said the bishops of England and Wales were committed to promoting dialogue with Catholic politicians.