St. Louis, Mo., Feb 2, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis would refuse to give the leading Democratic presidential candidate the Eucharist because of the politician’s support of abortion rights.
In a story dated Jan. 30, the archbishop told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he might give Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry a blessing, but not Communion.
In his former Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin, Burke instructed diocesan priests to refuse Communion to Catholic legislators who vote pro-abortion.
Kerry, a Catholic, said he shares the Church's anti-abortion views as an article of faith, but as a public official, he does not feel it is appropriate to legislate personal religious beliefs for the rest of the country.