US:NEW YORK'S Cardinal Edward Egan has criticised Rudy Giuliani, saying the former New York mayor violated a private agreement by receiving Communion during the pope's visit this month, despite Mr Giuliani's support for abortion rights.
"I deeply regret that Mr Giuliani received the Eucharist during the papal visit here in New York, and I will be seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding," Cardinal Egan said on Monday in a written statement.
But Mr Giuliani's public censure probably does not signal an archdiocesan crackdown on ordinary Catholics who might support abortion rights. Rather, the move seems an attempt to rein in a public figure whose position is blatantly contrary to church doctrine.
Mr Giuliani issued a two-sentence statement, saying that he was willing to meet the cardinal but that his "faith is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential".
David Gibson, a biographer of Pope Benedict who has been critical of Cardinal Egan in the past, said he was surprised when he saw the thrice-married Mr Giuliani taking Communion on April 19th at St Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.
In addition to his views on abortion, Mr Giuliani never had his second marriage annulled before marrying again.
"Giuliani clearly pushed Egan into a corner," Mr Gibson said. "This was Giuliani's provocation. It's just in your face. It really goes beyond the bounds."
During Pope Benedict's address to US bishops during his visit to America this month, he called it a "scandal" for Catholics to believe in a right to abortion. Also this month, the pope wrote that abortion is a "grave sin" that harms "the dignity of the human person" and is an offence to God.
Rev Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, an Amarillo, Texas-based anti-abortion group, said Cardinal Egan was right to make an example of the former Republican presidential candidate.
"What is of most concern when it comes to Communion is not the private state of Mr Giuliani's soul, but it's the public scandal," Rev Pavone said.
"People know all across the country that this man is in favour of keeping abortion legal. So the question here is the public contradiction between the church accepting this person as a Catholic and at the same time he's rejecting a key element of teaching." - (LA Times-Washington Post service)