VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In remarks that could influence the U.S. presidential race, a leading Vatican cardinal said on Friday that a politician who is unambiguously in favor of abortion should be denied communion at Mass.

The issue has sparked debate in the United States over Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a Roman Catholic who supports abortion rights.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, the top Vatican cardinal in charge of the sacraments, was asked at a news conference whether priests should refuse communion to a politician who is unambiguously pro-abortion.

"Yes," he replied. "If the person should not receive it, then it should not be given. Objectively, the answer is there."

Some members of the American Church hierarchy have said they would deny communion to Kerry, who, if elected, will become the first Roman Catholic president since John F. Kennedy in 1960.

Anti-abortion groups accuse Kerry of having what they call a "perfect" voting record on legislation allowing abortion. He is due to be endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Group, a group favoring abortion rights.

The discussion of Kerry's eligibility for communion arose after Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis advised him not to "present himself for communion" at any church in the city. A few other bishops have issued similar warnings.

Arinze, a Nigerian, is head of the Vatican department that establishes regulations on the way the sacraments, including the Mass and communion, should be practiced.

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 23, 2004

Answers

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-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), April 23, 2004.

Hooray for Cardinal Arinze. We are going to hear him give the commencement speech at Thomas Aquinas College in a couple of weeks. It should be great.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), April 23, 2004.

Brian,

Are you a student or employee at Thomas Aquinas College? I have heard some good things about that school. I like their philosophy of studying the "great books" written over the centuries rather than studying textbooks. Go straight to the source. I think it sounds like it would be a great place to work, but it would require moving far away. I am hoping that there will be more and more Catholic colleges that take a strong stand for the Truth as TAC seems to.

-- Emily (jesusfollower7@yahoo.com), April 23, 2004.

Emily,

No, my student days are long behind me. I have never even been to TAC but we contribute money to them. One of our priests graduated from there. A couple of kids in our parish attend school there. 2 of my friend's daughters attend school there. I'm hopeful that at least a few of my kids go there, as well. Everyone says it is fantastic. It's one of the handful of orthodox catholic colleges left. I think the philosophy of studying from the original texts is awesome. CS Lewis once marvelled that people would read books analyzing Aquinas, Socrates, Plato, or whoever rather than read them directly. He surmised that in one way it speaks to a person's modesty in that he may feel that classic texts are to be read by people more erudite, and scholarly than oneself. I, myself have been intimidated by such works before. I have vowed to try and cut back on buying books every time I see something I like, get through the pile of books next to my bed, and then dive into Aquinas, just like I would sit down to read any other book.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), April 23, 2004.

yeah, i wish my catholic school could just be orthodox like others.

our chapel doesnt have kneelers, so instead of fixing it they got a dispensation so that there is no kneeling during mass, then tried to enforce that no one was allowed to kneel (to which i pointed out that a waiver from the bishop does not ban people from following the USCCB ruling that kneeling is allowed, but only allows them not to follow it).

there is a gay support group on campus. i dont have a problem with this accept for one thing: "we are a discreet and safe place to meet other people of gay or transgender orientation." and so on and so forth. the whole thing isnt about support, its about a place to hook up with other gay people.

the church here has never taken a stand against abortion. never made a homily against homosexual marraiges, or premarital sex (they did once, but i've never seen that priest preside again). what is wrong with my catholic school? i always wanted to go to private catholic school, and now i find this one to be not much better than a public school. the only difference i see is that this is a bunch of little rich kids (except those of us on scholarships) so the social sensibility is SLIGHTLY higher (no thanks to the 'catholic' presence) than on other campuses.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), April 23, 2004.

paul,

Care to share the name of your school? No reason, I'm just curious. I'm sorry for the state of your institution, but it sounds like you're doing well personally. The key is knowing your faith so that you are not misled by these wolves in sheep's clothing. It appears that you do.

I remember floating through life until pretty recently, thinking priests always knew what they were talking about, catholic schools were all great etc. My wife went to confession 3 or 4 years ago to a missionary priest, a very loud, in your face New Yorker, visiting our area during lent. They were discussing our children, and typical parental worries and he suggested, no, more like commanded, that we homeschool our children rather than send them to catholic school. I remember being shocked that a priest basically condemned catholic schools. But he knew the state of catholic schools in this country, and I am very happy he steered us toward homeschooling. Thank God for this "old school" priest. May there be more like him.

-- Brian Crane (brian.crane@cranemills.com), April 23, 2004.