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Rep. Patrick Kennedy says RI bishop has told him not to take Communion over pro-choice stance
Star Tribune ^ | November 22, 2009 | Ray Henry

Posted on 11/22/2009 5:35:40 AM PST by NYer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman's support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

The decision by the outspoken prelate, reported on The Providence Journal's Web site, significantly escalates a bitter dispute between Tobin, an ultra orthodox bishop, and Kennedy, a son of the nation's most famous Roman Catholic family.

"The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion," Kennedy told the paper in an interview conducted Friday.

Kennedy said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him "that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I've taken as a public official," particularly on abortion.

He declined to say when or how Tobin told him not to take the sacrament. And he declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop's injunction.

The paper said the bishop's spokesman declined to address the question of whether he had told Kennedy not to receive Communion. But the bishop's office cast doubt on Kennedy's related assertion about instructions to state priests.

"Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese," spokesman Michael K. Guilfoyle told the paper in an e-mailed statement.

Kennedy did not return messages left on his cell phone by The Associated Press, and his staff refused to make the congressman available for comment. Tobin's spokesman told the AP that the bishop would not comment on the issue.

Church law permits Tobin to ban Kennedy from receiving Communion within the Diocese of Providence, which covers Rhode Island, but he cannot stop Kennedy from receiving Communion elsewhere. It was unclear whether bishops overseeing Washington and

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: Rhode Island
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholicpoliticians; duplicate; kennedy; kennedyfamily; patrickkennedy; religiousleft; ri
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To: omega4179

‘FINALLY some spine.

You cannot abort the innocents, Patrick, and accept the eucharist.”

this is so true....I ,too say At Last someone spoke up!!


61 posted on 11/22/2009 11:05:20 AM PST by aimee5291
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To: NYer

We would be blessed indeed if all bishops had this much spine.


62 posted on 11/22/2009 12:52:15 PM PST by TASMANIANRED
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To: NYer

bumpus ad summum


63 posted on 11/22/2009 6:43:54 PM PST by Dajjal (Obama is an Ericksonian NLP hypnotist.)
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