By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The feud between Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is continuing after the Congressman revealed to the press on Friday the contents of a confidential letter he received three years ago from the Bishop asking him to refrain from taking Communion due to his consistent pro-abortion voting record.
The son of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy disclosed the contents of the Feb. 21, 2007 letter to The Providence Journal. “The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion,” he told reporters.
He said the bishop had explained the penalty by telling him “that I am not a good practicing Catholic because of the positions that I’ve taken as a public official,” particularly on abortion.
Kennedy did not say if he has been obeying the bishop’s injunction.
In response to the disclosure, Bishop Tobin published a statement on Nov. 22, 2009 saying: “I am disappointed that the Congressman would make public my pastoral and confidential request of nearly three years ago that sought to provide solely for his spiritual well-being.”
In the 2007 letter, Bishop Tobin told him that because of his position on abortion, and in light of the Church’s clear teaching on this matter, “I believe it is inappropriate for you to be receiving Holy Communion and I now ask respectfully that you refrain from doing so.”
In the same letter, he told Kennedy that he was “writing to you personally and confidentially as a pastor addressing a member of his flock. . . . At the present time I have no need or intention to make this a public issue.”
In his most recent statement, the Bishop reiterated his desire to keep this discussion private, saying “I have no desire to continue the discussion of Congressman Kennedy’s spiritual life in public. At the same time, I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church, misrepresents the teachings of the Church, or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry.”
A spokesman for the Diocese has also corrected the record regarding Kennedy’s assertion that the bishop had instructed priests in the diocese not to give him Communion.
“Bishop Tobin has never addressed matters relative to public officials receiving Holy Communion with pastors of the diocese,” spokesman Michael K. Guilfoyle told the Journal.
This was the latest exchange in a weeks-long feud between Bishop Tobin and Kennedy that began when Kennedy publicly criticized the Church’s opposition to pro-abortion health care reform policies. Because Kennedy misstated Church teaching in his statements, the Bishop felt compelled to correct the record to avoid misleading his flock.
Bishop Tobin has repeatedly invited Kennedy to a private meeting with him to discuss his stances on various issues, but the Congressman has thus far chosen not to accept these invitations.
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