Abortion row sees Kennedy denied communion
Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:25
In the US a row has broken out between the Catholic Church on Rhode Island and the son of the late Edward Kennedy.
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US Congressman Patrick Kennedy a congressman for the north-eastern state claimed in a newspaper interview this week that Bishop Thomas Tobin had banned him from receiving holy communion because of his pro-abortion stance.
However, in a statement released by the Bishop he denied Mr Kennedy's claim and said that he had only requested in a letter back in February 2007 that the nephew of the late John F Kennedy refrain from taking communion because of his pro-abortion work.
Although the disputed conversation took place almost three years ago commentators say it has come back into the public domain now after Patrick Kennedy criticised the church for threatening to oppose Barack Obama's health care reform unless it included tighter abortion restrictions.
Senator Kennedy ultimately voted for a health care bill that passed in the House of Representatives earlier this month which included a Catholic backed amendment opposed by the congressman restricting abortion coverage.
