Rep. Kennedy Banned From Communion Over Abortion

The topic du jour today seems to be healthcare and with that comes, unsurprisingly, some bizarro stories that are more hysterics than actual substantive events. Take this one in The Hill which reports that Rep. Patrick Kennedy was banned from communion at a Catholic church because of his support for abortion rights:

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) has been barred from taking Communion in his home state because of his support for abortion rights.

Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), told the Providence Journal that Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has instructed Kennedy’s diocese to not give him Communion and forbade Kennedy to take Communion.

Kennedy told the Journal that the bishop justified the decision to him by saying “that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official,” particularly on abortion. He declined to say when or how Bishop Tobin told him not to take the sacrament. And he declined to say whether he has obeyed the bishop’s injunction.

Maybe I’m being pessimistic here but I have a feeling that we’re going to see more divisiveness like this as the Senate gets closer to voting on a final healthcare bill. Abstractly speaking though, I fail to see how banning a congressman from a church would change his mind about abortion, especially in a liberal state like Rhode Island. It would call attention to the issue, yes, and perhaps (although I’d say probably not) spur debate on abortion but it’s doubtful that keeping Kennedy away will change his vote. Most other politicians are likely to be the same. Unless their own job is endangered or substantial polling indicates a side contrary to the politicians’ all stunts like this are going to do will be to make everyone unnecessarily excite modestly interested in abortion —and not in a constructive way.

–Daniel Strauss