Holy Communion

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

Recently, I described how the Catholic Right has abused Holy Communion by using it as political tool, doing so by denying the Sacrament to pro-choice (i.e., liberal) elected officials. Now, according to Catholic Democrats certain Church hierarchs with close GOP connections have begun using this debasing tactic to target a potential Democratic running mate.

As I noted in Part Fifty-six of this series:

For Roman Catholics, Holy Communion is the height of the Mass. It is when the bread and wine, consecrated in the Eucharist, become the body and blood of Christ. This holiest of sacraments further serves as a reminder of the Passover Seder that became the Last Supper.

Last year, a lesbian couple in Wyoming, married in Canada, and mothers of three, got a surprise in the mail. At the request of their bishop (David Ricken), their pastor informed them by letter that they were no longer welcome to take Communion.

Their sin, the pastor made clear, was not their lesbianism per se. In fact, they regularly attended Mass and their family picture had appeared in the parish directory. What brought them down was the Smudge. On Ash Wednesday, they appeared (complete with forehead ashes) in an article in which they protested an anti-gay marriage amendment then pending in the Wyoming legislature. This exposure culminated in their being refused communion.

Originally posted at Talk to Action.

The Catholic Right, Part Fifty-six
On Tuesday I read the news that Cardinal Edward Egan (Archdiocese of New York) criticized former Mayor Rudy Giuliani for taking Communion during a Mass attended by Pope Benedict XVI.  This comes as no surprise, as the archbishop was repeating an  an increasingly common Catholic Right refrain - that those who support a woman's right to choose should be denied Communion.

For Roman Catholics, Holy Communion is the height of the Mass. It is when the bread and wine, consecrated in the Eucharist, become the body and blood of Christ. This holiest of sacraments further serves as a reminder of the Passover Seder that became the Last Supper.