The refusal of the Eucharist to a public representative in the Diocese of Cloyne has been "unambiguously condemned" by the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland.
It follows reports that Fine Gael TD and Minister of State Colm Burke was refused communion at a funeral mass on Friday and told it was because he had been "excommunicated".
Cork North Central TD Colm Burke voted in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment, a process which led to the legalisation of abortion in Ireland.
The Association of Catholic Priests represents a number of priests who reflect, discuss and comment on issues affecting the Irish Church and society.
In a statement this evening, the ACP said that like every member of the Catholic Church, public representatives must act in accordance with their conscience.
"It is not the role of the priest to judge the conscience of another person. The priest does not own the Eucharist and would do well to ponder the statement of Pope Francis that he has never refused the Eucharist to anyone."
The Association said that prior to the Eight Amendment being repealed, Irish women were travelling abroad to avail of abortion services, while legislators and citizens looked the other way.
"Procurement of an abortion is complex, morally and medically. Legislators have to balance two sets of rights, the right of the unborn child to life and the free decision-making right of the mother. Public representatives are tasked with finding a balance between both.
The incident took place at Whitechurch in the Blarney parish on Friday, when Mr Burke was attending the funeral mass of a long-standing Fine Gael member and parishioner.
Cork North Central TD Colm Burke voted in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment, a process which led to the legalisation of abortion in Ireland.
He said three priests were giving out communion and he went to Fr Gabriel Burke as he was the closest to the side of the church in which he had been sitting.
According to Mr Burke, there was a previous incident some time ago when he was not given communion by Fr Burke, but he thought that was something to do with mask-wearing during the pandemic.
"I went up and he refused to give me [Holy Communion]," Mr Burke said of Friday's mass. "He just gave me a blessing. He said, 'you're not getting it'. He said 'you've been excommunicated'."
According to Minister Burke, Fr Burke did not elaborate any further on his reasons. "He leaned forward and said, 'you've been excommunicated'."
Fr Burke has since been reported as saying that it was because of Mr Burke's "support for abortion".
The TD, who said he attends mass in his local church - which is not Whitechurch - most weekends, said this morning: "My argument is that we couldn't have repealed it unless there was a referendum and it was passed by referendum."
He also said: "My understanding is that Canon Law, in fact, doesn't give him the authority to refuse to give Holy Communion to anyone."
Asked for his reaction to what happened on Friday, he said: "I was just taken aback by it."
Cloyne diocesan secretary Fr Jim Moore confirmed that Mr Burke had been in touch with him on Friday about the matter, and said that Bishop William Crean who is currently indisposed will be contacting the TD "in the early days of next week".
Asked whether Fr Burke was right or wrong in what he did, Fr Moore said: "That's something that's between the bishop and his priest."
The ACP has described "the dismissal of a public representative" in the context of a funeral mass as a "particularly aggravating factor" in this incident.
Additional reporting by Conor Kane
