Cardinals say Communion for Catholic politicians not a private matter

Published: 2005-10-07

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The reception of Communion by a Catholic politician who does not follow church teaching is not a private matter, but a decision involving the church and its unity in truth, said Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo. "Politicians and legislators must understand that by promoting or defending unjust legal proposals they have a serious responsibility, and they must remedy the evil committed and spread in order to approach Communion with the Lord who is the way, the truth and the life," the cardinal said Oct. 7 during the world Synod of Bishops. The concerns of the cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, were echoed minutes later by Cardinal Juan Cipriani Thorne of Lima, Peru. According to information released by the Vatican, Cardinal Lopez Trujillo told the bishops that the problem of politicians and Communion was a "burning problem" in several countries, particularly where marriage, the family and the sanctity of human life were in "grave danger."

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