Test case

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 29, 2004

"It is not our policy to deny Communion to anyone."

Anyone? Let's imagine a hypothetical test case.

Imagine that Adolph Hitler is discovered alive. Let's say he escaped to Paraguay, where Nazi scientists had unlocked the secret of cryogenic storage, and he's just now been thawed out; he has the appearance of a healthy man in his 60s.

So Hitler flies to Boston and holds a press conference in front of the State House, announcing his plans to set up a Nazi regime in the US. In answer to a reporter's question, he says that he considers himself a good Catholic, and will be attending Mass at the closest available Catholic church-- which, as it happens, is the Paulist Center.

The phone rings at the chancery. It's the Paulist Center. How do you think that conversation goes?

And if Hitler is denied Communion, what do you think the Boston Globe will say?