Archbishop Raymond Burke: Pro-Abortion Catholics Should Not Receive Communion

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 August 2008
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942| kwalker@all.org

CLEAR AND UNEQUIVOCAL TEACHING: PRO-ABORTION CATHOLICS SHOULD NOT RECEIVE COMMUNION

Washington, DC (25 August 2008) – American Life League congratulates Archbishop Raymond Burke, the newly appointed prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, for his clear and unequivocal teachings on the need to deny the Holy Eucharist to those who publicly support abortion.

Archbishop Burke, former archbishop of St. Louis, has made reverence for the Holy Eucharist a central theme of his role as a shepherd of souls.

"Archbishop Burke's great love and zeal for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament compels him to send a clear message: Don't desecrate the Holy Eucharist by presenting yourself for Communion while persisting in your support of child murder," said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. "We are excited to see Archbishop Burke continuing to battle for
the lives of innocent preborn children."

Archbishop Burke spoke to the Italian magazine Radici Christiane last week, specifically addressing the subject of "Catholic" pro-abortion politicians who "support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives."

"A person who commits sin in this way," he stated, "should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life."

The archbishop then went on to explain that when ministers of Communion deny the sacrament to public officials who support abortion, "it is not with the intention of interfering in public life, but rather with the concern of the spiritual state of the politician or public official who, if Catholic, should follow the divine law in the public sphere as well."

"We thank Archbishop Burke for his clear teaching in regard to pro-abortion politicians who call themselves 'Catholic,'" said Brown. "It is our hope that more Catholic bishops will follow his lead and dispel the confusion and darkness of the culture of death in which we live. You cannot be Catholic and 'pro-choice.'"

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or media inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.