The new Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, yesterday disagreed with the Vatican that priests should refuse Communion to politicians who adopt a pro-choice stance on abortion, writes Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent.
In Rome last Friday, Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, answered with an emphatic "yes" when asked: "If a politician is known to take a pro-abortion stance, should a priest refuse him Communion?"
Dr Martin, speaking at his first press conference as archbishop, warned against the Eucharist being turned into a battleground and said he would "like to see people make a conscientious decision [on the matter] themselves."
He felt it would be "very difficult for priests to make a decision on what was the state of the individual soul" presenting for Communion. "The Eucharist must not become a political battleground," he said.
Cardinal Arinze was presenting a document on the Eucharist when he was persistently questioned as to whether US Democratic presidential candidate Mr John Kerry should be allowed receive Communion.
Mr Kerry is a practising Catholic who opposes abortion personally but has taken a pro-choice stance as a politician.
Dr Martin was speaking following an earlier announcement that the resignation of Cardinal Connell as archbishop of Dublin had been accepted by Pope John Paul.
The resignation was submitted, as required, three years ago when the cardinal reached 75. He remains a member of some Vatican congregations, including the influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Responding to a question on the proposed citizenship referendum, Dr Martin said he did not think the Constitution was something that should be changed very often.
But when change was mooted, it should follow "as wide a consultation as possible among the political and social forces."
He would not be in a position to comment on the proposed referendum itself until he saw the finished text, he said.
He would also be "very happy" if the proposed EU Constitution "recognised the fact that Christianity contributed enormously to the construction of Europe and the European ideal".
Speaking of Cardinal Connell, he said: "Over these years, if I may use a phrase of Pope John Paul I speaking of his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Connell has shown us 'how one loves, how one serves and how one suffers for the church'."
The cardinal "had a difficult period" as archbishop and faced "many challenges which were not of his own creation", Dr Martin said. Cardinal Connell had "suffered out of his own sensitivity and conscience, because of his care for his priests and care for and his horror at stories of abuse".