Catholic World News News Feature

Kerry-Communion debate reaches Australia May 03, 2004

An Australian prelate has said that "public and notorious" opposition to Church teachings would be grounds for denying the Eucharist.

Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne told the Australian newspaper The Age that he would "have no option" but to deny the Eucharist to someone who "is publicly known" to be in clear violation of Church teachings. The archbishop emphasized that he would withhold Communion only if a public figure was flagrant in his opposition to Church teachings.

In Australia, the lines of political demarcation on abortion are not as clearly fixed as they are in the US, where the status of pro-abortion Catholic politicians has promptly a more vigorous debate. Health minister Tony Abbott, a pro-life Catholic, has drawn more attention to the issue in recent weeks by urging Catholics to protest the 100,000 abortions that are performed each year with government funding.

The Age interpreted the archbishop's public remarks as an attempt to avoid an immediate confrontation. The paper cited the case of local premier Steve Bracks, who it described as "cautiously pro-choice on abortion." Bracks, a Catholic, indicated that he would continue to receive Communion.