WASHINGTON — The American archbishop who heads the Vatican’s supreme court said Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should not receive the sacraments, including funeral rites, according to a report by a conservative Catholic Web site.
Archbishop Raymond Burke, who led the Archdiocese of St. Louis until he was appointed prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, is known as a forceful critic of public figures who support abortion rights and gay “marriage.” At a gathering of Catholic conservatives in Washington on Sept. 18, Burke reiterated that criticism. “Neither Holy Communion nor funeral rites should be administered to such politicians,” Burke said, according to InsideCatholic.com, which hosted the event. “To deny these is not a judgment of the soul, but a recognition of the scandal and its effects.”
The remarks were seen as an “obvious reference” to the August funeral for Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and Catholic who supported legalized abortion and gay rights. Conservative Catholics said he should not have been given a Catholic funeral.
Share with others: