Bishop rebukes Rep. Kennedy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Thomas Tobin, the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence, has frequently put politicians in his cross hairs.

His latest battle over abortion threatens to spiritually exile Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a member of the nation's most famous Roman Catholic family.

Their feud over a proposal expanding the nation's health insurance system has escalated to the point where Tobin has publicly questioned Kennedy's faith and membership in the church. Tobin said Kennedy should not receive Communion, the central sacrament in Catholic worship.

It's an uncomfortable tangle of faith and politics for a congressman whose uncle John F. Kennedy was elected the first Roman Catholic president in 1960. In his campaign, JFK declared to wary Protestants that he did not speak for his church on public matters, and that the church did not speak for him.

“I don't think there's any winner here,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a church observer and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. “I think this is the kind of thing that would be better discussed between a member of Congress and his bishop behind closed doors.”

Patrick Kennedy is among several Catholic politicians who have clashed with their bishops over abortion, which the church considers a paramount moral evil not open for negotiation. But fewer than 20 of the roughly 200 bishops overseeing U.S. dioceses have threatened to deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion, Reese said.

“I don't think you'll find widespread support among Catholics for this,” he said.

In an interview last month with CNSNews.com, Kennedy criticized the nation's Catholic bishops for threatening to oppose an overhaul of the health care system — a goal the church supports — unless it included tighter restrictions on publicly financed abortion.

It was a loaded statement from a congressman who represents the state with the highest percentage of Roman Catholics. And it drew the attention of Tobin.

An angry Tobin fired back, calling Kennedy ignorant of church policy. He asked for an apology and a meeting.

In a letter, Kennedy agreed to a meeting and said his Catholic faith is founded on the principles of feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and caring for the less fortunate. Kennedy voted against an amendment tightening abortion restrictions in a Democratic health care plan, but he voted in favor of the overall proposal that included those restrictions.

Kennedy wrote in a letter to Tobin: “I embrace my faith which acknowledges the existence of an imperfect humanity.”

Their planned meeting fell apart Monday. The bishop called it a mutual decision, but Kennedy accused Tobin of reneging on an agreement to stop discussing Kennedy's faith publicly. Tobin responded with a scathing criticism.

“Sorry, you can't chalk it up to an ‘imperfect humanity,'” Tobin said.