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| Demands are sometimes made within the ], which ], that ]ic communion be denied to Catholic legislators by whose action ]. The demands are based on the requirement of ] of the ] , which states that "those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion".<ref></ref> In some cases, even ] of such politicians has been envisaged but has not been applied. Similarly, no case has been reported of a politician coming to receive communion and actually being refused on those grounds. | |||
| Because ], a number of controversies have occurred with respect to '''Catholic politicians who ]'''. Most such controversies have involved a bishop threatening to deny the politician ''']'''; in a few cases, ''']''' was suggested. | |||
| ==In the United States== | ==In the United States== | ||
| In 2004, with some American bishops in favor of withholding communion from pro-choice politicians and others against it, the ] decided that such matters should be decided on a case-by-case basis.<ref name="Espresso"/> Debate has subsequently arisen on a number of occasions, leading Archbishop ] of Pittsburgh to say in 2005 that, because of "national ramifications", no individual bishop should deny communion to politicians, and more conservative bishops and archbishops, including ] of St. Louis and ] of Denver, to see ecclesiastical penalties as a means of promoting the church's position on abortion.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Tablet |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/974 |date=August 27, 2005 |title=Communion for pro-choice politicians splits Church |first=Richard |last=Major}}</ref> Those few<ref></ref> bishops who support denying communion to pro-choice Catholics cite ] as their justification.<ref></ref> Wuerl has commented that he believes the canon was not intended to be used in such a way, and that a pastoral approach would be more effective for changing minds than a legalistic one.<ref name=PD>{{Cite news |publisher=Politics Daily |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/06/archbishop-wuerl-why-i-won-t-deny-pelosi-communion/ |title=Wuerl: Why I Won't Deny Pelosi Communion |first=Melinda |last=Henneberger |date=11 May 2009}}</ref> | |||
| Suggested reasons for the United States being the focus of such activity are a greater politicization of faith and a more single-minded, crusade-like way of changing the law and society, and that abortion's status as a constitutional right in the United States leads to more heated debates about it.<ref name="Espresso"/><ref name="NCReporter">], "The Word from Rome" in ''National Catholic Reporter'', 28 May 2004]</ref> | |||
| ===Mario Cuomo=== | ===Mario Cuomo=== | ||
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| ===John Kerry=== | ===John Kerry=== | ||
| In April 2004, Archbishop ] forbade Senator ], a Catholic, to take ] because of his stance on abortion and possibly stem cell research. This action was at that time considered unprecedented and taken on grounds that experts considered not to apply to Kerry.<ref>{{Cite news |publisher=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/06/politics/main610547.shtml |title=Kerry's Communion Controversy |first=David |last=Hancock |date=April 6, 2004}}</ref> | In April 2004, Archbishop ] forbade Senator ], a Catholic, to take ] in St. Louis because of his stance on abortion and possibly stem cell research. This action was at that time considered unprecedented and taken on grounds that experts considered not to apply to Kerry.<ref>{{Cite news |publisher=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/06/politics/main610547.shtml |title=Kerry's Communion Controversy |first=David |last=Hancock |date=April 6, 2004}}</ref> | ||
| ===Rudy Giuliani=== | ===Rudy Giuliani=== | ||
| Burke also said that he would deny communion to ], and that Giuliani should not seek communion.<ref name="fox">{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299205,00.html |title=Outspoken Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke Says He'd Deny Rudy Giuliani Communion |date=October 3, 2007 |work=Fox News}}</ref> | In 2007, Raymond Burke also said that he would deny communion to ], and that Giuliani should not seek communion.<ref name="fox">{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299205,00.html |title=Outspoken Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke Says He'd Deny Rudy Giuliani Communion |date=October 3, 2007 |work=Fox News}}</ref> | ||
| ===Kathleen Sebelius=== | |||
| ] ] ] asked that ] no longer receive ] because of her position on abortion. Naumann criticized Sebelius for vetoing HS SB 389.<ref>{{cite news |first=Dennis |last=Sadowski |title=Archbishop Naumann: Kansas governor should stop receiving Communion |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0802605.htm |work=Catholic News Service |publisher=U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops |date=May 12, 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-11 |quote= said many Kansans "find it more than an embarrassment" that the state had become "infamous for being the late-term abortion center for the Midwest." }}</ref> The action received mixed reviews in the Catholic press.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rigid bishops one-up the popes |url=http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/1110 |work=National Catholic Reporter |date=May 30, 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Patrick |last=Whelon |title=Conservatives gear up again to use Communion as a political weapon,, no matter the cost to American Catholicism |url=http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/news/2008/05/conservatives_gear_up_again_to.php |work=Catholic Democrats |date=May 14, 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Catholic Governor Sebelius Corrected |url=http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=27933 |work=National Catholic Register |date=May 13, 2008 |accessdate=2009-03-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Archbishop asks Kansas governor to refrain from Communion for abortion support, awaits response |url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12619 |work=Catholic News Agency |date=May 12, 2008 |accessdate=2009-03-01}}</ref> | |||
| ===Joe Biden=== | ===Joe Biden=== | ||
| After ], a pro-choice Catholic, was selected as a vice presidential candidate in the ], Bishop ], bishop of Biden's original hometown of ], said that Biden would be refused Holy Communion in ] because of his stance on legal abortion.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Kirkpatrick |title=Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes |
After ], a pro-choice Catholic, was selected as a vice presidential candidate in the ], Bishop ], bishop of Biden's original hometown of ], said that Biden would be refused Holy Communion in ] because of his stance on legal abortion.<ref name=Hoffman>{{cite web|url=http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08090212.html |title=Scranton Bishop Says He will Refuse Communion to Joseph Biden |publisher=Lifesitenews.com |date=2008-09-02 |accessdate=2008-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Kirkpatrick |title=Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/us/politics/17catholics.html?bl&ex=1221883200&en=1e3acb5115249581&ei=5087%0A |work=] |date=2008-09-16 |accessdate=2008-09-19 }}</ref> However, Bishop ] of ], Biden's place of residence, made no similar declaration, and only "asked" politicians like Biden not to present themselves for Holy Communion.<ref name=Hoffman/><ref></ref><ref></ref> Saltarelli's successor, Francis Malooly, followed the same line.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name=Schmaltz/> Biden continued to attend Mass and receive Communion at his local Delaware parish.<ref></ref><ref name=Hoffman/> | ||
| ===Nancy Pelosi=== | |||
| In 2008, some Catholic organizations demanded that ], a self-described pro-choice politician reported to have voted for laws that promote abortion,<ref name=Pelosi>{{Cite news |publisher=CNSNews |url=http://cnsnews.com/news/article/catholic-group-petitions-pope-excommunicate-nancy-pelosi |title=Catholic Group Petitions Pope to Excommunicate Nancy Pelosi |first=Michael |last=Chapman |date=20 February 2009}}</ref> should be denied communion or that she should be excommunicated.<ref>{{Cite news |publisher=Reuters |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/10/02/idUS232375+02-Oct-2008+PRN20081002 |title=A.L.L. Calls on Washington, D.C. Archbishop to Enforce Canon 915 at Red Mass Sunday |first=Katie |last=Walker |date=2 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |publisher=PR Newswire |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multicultural-latest-news/palm-sunday-demonstration-at-wash-dc-cathedral-calling-on-archbishop-wuerl-to-excommunicate-nancy-pelosi-89331792.html |title=Palm Sunday Demonstration at Wash. DC Cathedral Calling on Archbishop Wuerl to Excommunicate Nancy Pelosi |first=Diana |last=Roccograndi |date=2 October 2008}}</ref> Canon lawyers Edward Peters and Peter Vere stated that holy communion should be denied to her.<ref name=Pelosi/> In response, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington ] said that he stood with the great majority of the American bishops and bishops elsewhere in saying that canon 915 was never meant to be used as a weapon against politicians, and that the legal approach had never in his experience changed hearts, making it preferable to use a pastoral, teaching mode with patience, persistence and insistence.<ref name=PD>{{Cite news |publisher=Politics Daily |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/06/archbishop-wuerl-why-i-won-t-deny-pelosi-communion/ |title=Wuerl: Why I Won't Deny Pelosi Communion |first=Melinda |last=Henneberger |date=11 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=Schmaltz>{{Cite news |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor |url=http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/4054/Return-of-the-Communion-Wars.aspx |title=Return of the 'Communion Wars' |first=Valerie |last=Schmaltz |date=28 September 2008}}</ref> Wuerl had used this teaching mode in August 2008 in response to what he called "statements regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church, human life and abortion that were incorrect".<ref></ref><ref name=Pelosi/> | |||
| In February 2009, when Pelosi was about to be received in audience by ], an American pro-life group appealed to the Pope to excommunicate her, saying that the archbishops of her home in San Francisco and of Washington, where she is Speaker of the House of Representatives, refused to take action against her – in fact, in neither diocese has communion been withheld from her.<ref name=Pelosi/> After the audience of the Pope, the Holy See Press Office issued a statement: "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."<ref name=Pelosi/> | |||
| ===Patrick Kennedy=== | ===Patrick Kennedy=== | ||
| In November 2009, Bishop ] |
In November 2009, Bishop ] told Representative ] that it would be "inappropriate" for him to continue receiving the Eucharist, information about which the editor of the CNN news report put under the heading "Bishop bars Patrick Kennedy from Communion over abortion".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2009-11-22/politics/kennedy.abortion_1_catholic-bishops-bishops-support-rep-patrick-kennedy?_s=PM:POLITICS |publisher=CNN |date=November 22, 2009 |title=Bishop bars Patrick Kennedy from Communion over abortion}}</ref> | ||
| ===Position of the American bishops as a body=== | |||
| The majority of the American bishops disagree with the position expressed by the bishops mentioned above.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref name=PD/> The question was brought before the June 2004 meeting of the ], which decided to leave it "to each bishop to express prudent pastoral judgments in his own specific circumstances".<ref name=Espresso/> In 2005, Donald Wuerl, who was then Archbishop of Pittsburgh, said that, because of "national ramifications", no individual bishop should deny communion to politicians and that such an action should be taken only on the basis of a two-thirds majority of the bishops as a whole or of a mandate from the Holy See, while conservative bishops ] of Phoenix and ] of Denver declared that they would act on their own initiative in line with the June 2004 decision of the bishops conference.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Tablet |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/article/974 |date=August 27, 2005 |title=Communion for pro-choice politicians splits Church |first=Richard |last=Major}}</ref> | |||
| Those few<ref></ref> bishops who support denying communion to Catholic politicians who vote for legalized abortion cite ] as their justification.<ref></ref> As has been noted, Wuerl has commented that he believes the canon was not intended to be used in such a way, and that a pastoral approach would be more effective for changing minds than a legalistic one.<ref name=PD/> | |||
| ==Outside the United States== | ==Outside the United States== | ||
| Outside of the United States, |
Outside of the United States, the Church maintains rigorous principles, but adopts flexible pastoral customs and has never raised questions about withholding communion from Catholic politicians who vote for legalizing abortion.<ref name="Espresso"></ref> In January 2001, Pope John Paul II gave Communion to Mayor of Rome ], whose position is that of being "personally opposed to abortion, but not willing to impose his stance through law". Similar cases are found among parliamentarians in Austria, Belgium and Germany.<ref name="NCReporter"/> | ||
| A reason suggested by ] ] for the absence outside the United States of demands for refusal of communion to such Catholic politicians is that the United States is the only country where abortion is considered to be a right enshrined in the national constitution and not a mere matter of legislation, and that in the United States political crusades for changing culture and laws invest questions of pastoral practice with political significance.<ref name="NCReporter">], "The Word from Rome" in ''National Catholic Reporter'', 28 May 2004]</ref> | |||
| ==Mexico== | |||
| In May 2007, ], while flying to Brazil, expressed support for the Mexican bishops who had envisaged the excommunication of politicians who had voted to ] in Mexico City. Responding to a journalist's question, "Do you agree with the excommunications given to legislators in Mexico City on the question?" the Pope said: "Yes. The excommunication was not something arbitrary. It is part of the (canon law) code. It is based simply on the principle that the killing of an innocent human child is incompatible with going in Communion with the body of Christ. Thus, they (the bishops) didn't do anything new or anything surprising. Or arbitrary." According to '']'', many journalists were wondering if this support could be interpreted as a wish to excommunicate such politicians,<ref> '']''. . May 10, 2007.</ref>; ''Time'' magazine reported that it was in fact such a declaration.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Time |title=Pope Rejects Pro-Choice Politicians |date=May 9, 2007 |first=Jeff |last=Israely |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1619070,00.html}}</ref> However, church officials said that it was not a declaration but appeared to be a misunderstanding.<ref>{{Cite news |work=USA Today (Associated Press service) |title=Pope arrives in Brazil with tough abortion stance |date=10 May 2007 |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-09-pope-brazil_N.htm}}</ref> ], director of the ], clarified that the Pope was not excommunicating anyone, since the Mexican bishops had not in fact declared an excommunication, and that he did not mean to depart from a recent declaration that placed the decision to leave the Church in the hands of individual politicians. However, Lombardi said "politicians who vote in favor of abortion should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion", because their action is "incompatible with participation in the Eucharist."<ref>{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18569939/ns/world_news-americas/ |date=May 9, 2007 |title=Pope condemns abortion on Latin America trip}}</ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 13:03, 20 December 2011
Demands are sometimes made within the Catholic Church, which considers abortion a serious sin, that Eucharistic communion be denied to Catholic legislators by whose action abortion becomes or remains legal. The demands are based on the requirement of canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law , which states that "those obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion". In some cases, even excommunication of such politicians has been envisaged but has not been applied. Similarly, no case has been reported of a politician coming to receive communion and actually being refused on those grounds.
In the United States
Mario Cuomo
In 1984, Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, then Archbishop of New York, contemplated excommunicating then-Governor of New York Mario Cuomo.
John Kerry
In April 2004, Archbishop Raymond Burke forbade Senator John Kerry, a Catholic, to take communion in St. Louis because of his stance on abortion and possibly stem cell research. This action was at that time considered unprecedented and taken on grounds that experts considered not to apply to Kerry.
Rudy Giuliani
In 2007, Raymond Burke also said that he would deny communion to Rudy Giuliani, and that Giuliani should not seek communion.
Kathleen Sebelius
Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann asked that Kathleen Sebelius no longer receive Holy Communion because of her position on abortion. Naumann criticized Sebelius for vetoing HS SB 389. The action received mixed reviews in the Catholic press.
Joe Biden
After Joe Biden, a pro-choice Catholic, was selected as a vice presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential election, Bishop Joseph Francis Martino, bishop of Biden's original hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said that Biden would be refused Holy Communion in that diocese because of his stance on legal abortion. However, Bishop Michael Angelo Saltarelli of Wilmington, Biden's place of residence, made no similar declaration, and only "asked" politicians like Biden not to present themselves for Holy Communion. Saltarelli's successor, Francis Malooly, followed the same line. Biden continued to attend Mass and receive Communion at his local Delaware parish.
Nancy Pelosi
In 2008, some Catholic organizations demanded that Nancy Pelosi, a self-described pro-choice politician reported to have voted for laws that promote abortion, should be denied communion or that she should be excommunicated. Canon lawyers Edward Peters and Peter Vere stated that holy communion should be denied to her. In response, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl said that he stood with the great majority of the American bishops and bishops elsewhere in saying that canon 915 was never meant to be used as a weapon against politicians, and that the legal approach had never in his experience changed hearts, making it preferable to use a pastoral, teaching mode with patience, persistence and insistence. Wuerl had used this teaching mode in August 2008 in response to what he called "statements regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church, human life and abortion that were incorrect".
In February 2009, when Pelosi was about to be received in audience by Pope Benedict XVI, an American pro-life group appealed to the Pope to excommunicate her, saying that the archbishops of her home in San Francisco and of Washington, where she is Speaker of the House of Representatives, refused to take action against her – in fact, in neither diocese has communion been withheld from her. After the audience of the Pope, the Holy See Press Office issued a statement: "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
Patrick Kennedy
In November 2009, Bishop Thomas Tobin told Representative Patrick Kennedy that it would be "inappropriate" for him to continue receiving the Eucharist, information about which the editor of the CNN news report put under the heading "Bishop bars Patrick Kennedy from Communion over abortion".
Position of the American bishops as a body
The majority of the American bishops disagree with the position expressed by the bishops mentioned above. The question was brought before the June 2004 meeting of the bishops conference, which decided to leave it "to each bishop to express prudent pastoral judgments in his own specific circumstances". In 2005, Donald Wuerl, who was then Archbishop of Pittsburgh, said that, because of "national ramifications", no individual bishop should deny communion to politicians and that such an action should be taken only on the basis of a two-thirds majority of the bishops as a whole or of a mandate from the Holy See, while conservative bishops Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix and Charles J. Chaput of Denver declared that they would act on their own initiative in line with the June 2004 decision of the bishops conference.
Those few bishops who support denying communion to Catholic politicians who vote for legalized abortion cite canon 915 as their justification. As has been noted, Wuerl has commented that he believes the canon was not intended to be used in such a way, and that a pastoral approach would be more effective for changing minds than a legalistic one.
Outside the United States
Outside of the United States, the Church maintains rigorous principles, but adopts flexible pastoral customs and has never raised questions about withholding communion from Catholic politicians who vote for legalizing abortion. In January 2001, Pope John Paul II gave Communion to Mayor of Rome Francesco Rutelli, whose position is that of being "personally opposed to abortion, but not willing to impose his stance through law". Similar cases are found among parliamentarians in Austria, Belgium and Germany.
A reason suggested by Cardinal Francis George for the absence outside the United States of demands for refusal of communion to such Catholic politicians is that the United States is the only country where abortion is considered to be a right enshrined in the national constitution and not a mere matter of legislation, and that in the United States political crusades for changing culture and laws invest questions of pastoral practice with political significance.
Mexico
In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, while flying to Brazil, expressed support for the Mexican bishops who had envisaged the excommunication of politicians who had voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City. Responding to a journalist's question, "Do you agree with the excommunications given to legislators in Mexico City on the question?" the Pope said: "Yes. The excommunication was not something arbitrary. It is part of the (canon law) code. It is based simply on the principle that the killing of an innocent human child is incompatible with going in Communion with the body of Christ. Thus, they (the bishops) didn't do anything new or anything surprising. Or arbitrary." According to Der Spiegel, many journalists were wondering if this support could be interpreted as a wish to excommunicate such politicians,; Time magazine reported that it was in fact such a declaration. However, church officials said that it was not a declaration but appeared to be a misunderstanding. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, clarified that the Pope was not excommunicating anyone, since the Mexican bishops had not in fact declared an excommunication, and that he did not mean to depart from a recent declaration that placed the decision to leave the Church in the hands of individual politicians. However, Lombardi said "politicians who vote in favor of abortion should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion", because their action is "incompatible with participation in the Eucharist."
References
- Code of Canon Law, canon 915
- Beltramini, Enrico (September 12, 2009). "Il cattolicesimo politico in America". Limes.
- West, John G.; MacLean, Iain S. (1999). Encyclopedia of religion in American politics, Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 98.
- Hancock, David (April 6, 2004). "Kerry's Communion Controversy". CBS News.
- "Outspoken Catholic Archbishop Raymond Burke Says He'd Deny Rudy Giuliani Communion". Fox News. Associated Press. October 3, 2007.
- Sadowski, Dennis (May 12, 2008). "Archbishop Naumann: Kansas governor should stop receiving Communion". Catholic News Service. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
said many Kansans "find it more than an embarrassment" that the state had become "infamous for being the late-term abortion center for the Midwest."
- "Rigid bishops one-up the popes". National Catholic Reporter. May 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- Whelon, Patrick (May 14, 2008). "Conservatives gear up again to use Communion as a political weapon,, no matter the cost to American Catholicism". Catholic Democrats. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- "Catholic Governor Sebelius Corrected". National Catholic Register. May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- "Archbishop asks Kansas governor to refrain from Communion for abortion support, awaits response". Catholic News Agency. May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Scranton Bishop Says He will Refuse Communion to Joseph Biden". Lifesitenews.com. 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
- Kirkpatrick, David (2008-09-16). "Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli, "Abortion politics: Biden never refused communion"
- Gerald Korson, "Catholic Joe Biden brings strengths, liabilities"
- Biden’s bishop won’t ask him to refrain from receiving Holy Communion
- Jim Grant, "Bishop Malooly says sanctity of human life 'crucial' to just society"
- ^ Schmaltz, Valerie (28 September 2008). "Return of the 'Communion Wars'". Our Sunday Visitor.
- Biden’s Bishop Will not Permit Him, Even if Elected VP, to Speak at Catholic Schools
- ^ Chapman, Michael (20 February 2009). "Catholic Group Petitions Pope to Excommunicate Nancy Pelosi". CNSNews.
- Walker, Katie (2 October 2008). "A.L.L. Calls on Washington, D.C. Archbishop to Enforce Canon 915 at Red Mass Sunday". Reuters.
- Roccograndi, Diana (2 October 2008). "Palm Sunday Demonstration at Wash. DC Cathedral Calling on Archbishop Wuerl to Excommunicate Nancy Pelosi". PR Newswire.
- ^ Henneberger, Melinda (11 May 2009). "Wuerl: Why I Won't Deny Pelosi Communion". Politics Daily.
- "Archbishop Wuerl on the Church’s Constant Teaching on Abortion" (25 August 2008)
- "Bishop bars Patrick Kennedy from Communion over abortion". CNN. November 22, 2009.
- Michael Sean Winters, "Chaput Cites Disunity Among Bishops on Canon 915" in National Catholic Reporter, 12 April 2011
- John Allen, "Antiabortion imperative more complex than acknowledged: John Allen: bishops' views on abortion"
- ^ Sandro Magister, "Obama's Pick for Vice President Is Catholic. But the Bishops Deny Him Communion"
- Major, Richard (August 27, 2005). "Communion for pro-choice politicians splits Church". The Tablet.
- John Allen, "Antiabortion imperative more complex than acknowledged: John Allen: bishops' views on abortion"
- Michael Sean Winters, "Chaput Cites Disunity Among Bishops on Canon 915" in National Catholic Reporter, 12 April 2011
- ^ John L. Allen, "The Word from Rome" in National Catholic Reporter, 28 May 2004
- Der Spiegel. Pope Attacks Mexico City Politicians. May 10, 2007.
- Israely, Jeff (May 9, 2007). "Pope Rejects Pro-Choice Politicians". Time.
- "Pope arrives in Brazil with tough abortion stance". USA Today (Associated Press service). 10 May 2007.
- "Pope condemns abortion on Latin America trip". Associated Press. May 9, 2007.