Catholic Bishop to Pro-Choice Politician: "No Communion for You"

by Alex DiBranco · 2009-11-23 12:21:00 UTC
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Once upon a time, there was a Church known for demonstrating concern over social justice and poverty. Then, one day, it decided that it had higher priorities, like controlling women's bodies and denying people who love each other the right to get married.

On Change.org's Gay Rights blog, Mike Jones has a post up on a Catholic bishop's decision to deny Communion to Rep. Patrick Kennedy due to his defense of reproductive rights. With gay marriage ranking up next to abortion as one of today's top sins for conservative Catholics, Jones wonders whether Catholic bishops will start withholding communion from supporters of the right for all people to marry and live happily ever after.

For lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women, marriage equality is a significant women's rights issue. But, unfortunately, this incident is a double-whammy here on the women's rights blog, because our concerns are not confined to the hypothetical -- as Jones points out, Catholic bishops are already denying the communion wafer to reproductive justice supporters.

When did the Catholic Church -- which I know has a lot of very liberal constituents -- become such a two-issue horse?

Last year, the Church decided it needed some modern sprucing up, so we got seven brand-spanking-new deadly sins, which included harming the environment, causing poverty, and "accumulating excessive wealth." While I'm not a big fan of the concept of "sin" in general, it seemed at least praiseworthy that the Church intended to use its considerable reach (and maybe some of its considerable wealth) to combat climate change and economic inequality. So why exactly don't we hear about Catholic bishops saying "no wafer for you" to investment bankers awarding themselves millions in bonuses (on the government's dime), or to global warming-denying and -causing oil execs?

Or, if we're sticking with elected officials, how about politicians who think the rich deserve massive tax cuts while the less fortunate should be deprived of vital social services? I can think of a number of Republicans who fit the bill.

Photo credit: urbanwoodchuck's Flickr photostream

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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