Pro-choice politicians take Communion

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Despite a 2004 order from the future Pope Benedict XVI barring pro-choice Catholic politicians from the Communion table, a quintet of elected officials flouted his wishes twice during his recent six-day visit here by partaking of the sacrament right before his eyes.

The bishops whose job it is to enforce the pope's wishes have been all over the map in responding. While New York Cardinal Edward Egan publicly chastised former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani for taking Communion during an April 19 Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the bishops of Washington, Boston and Norwalk, Conn., have not disciplined members of their flock who partook April 17 at Nationals Park.

In fact, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a liberal Massachusetts Democrat, got a personalized delivery of Communion, said Dan Skehan, a businessman from Lancaster, Pa., who sat in Section 216 directly above the senator.

Minutes before the rest of the enormous crowd lined up to receive the sacrament, Mr. Skehan and his two sons spotted a priest making his way down the steps to the senator to hand him the consecrated host.

"It was obviously prearranged," Mr. Skehan said, "maybe out of regard for his girth and lack of mobility. I turned immediately to both my sons and said, 'Oh my gosh, look at that.' Everyone in my section, which was filled with people from Lancaster, said, 'That is outrageous. How could they do that?'"

They were aware that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — had told American bishops in 2004 that pro-choice Catholic politicians should first be privately admonished to cease their activism on the abortion issue and then — if there was no change — to refuse the sacrament.

At first, on April 30, archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs denied that Mr. Kennedy had partaken, saying such a scenario "wouldn't be possible."

Then on May 1, Mr. Kennedy's office e-mailed The Washington Times a one-sentence statement saying the senator had indeed received Communion at the Mass.

Mr. Skehan was incredulous that the archdiocese would plead ignorance.

"They know which priest was assigned to distribute Communion in that section," he said. "Those priests couldn't wander around. They had 47,000 people receive Communion in 15 minutes. That was orchestrated. They knew who was where."