NEW YORK - Rudy Giuliani should not have received Holy Communion during the pope's visit because the former presidential candidate supports abortion rights, New York Cardinal Edward Egan said Monday.

Egan says he had "an understanding" with Giuliani that he is not to receive the Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches "that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God," Egan said.

The cardinal said Monday that Giuliani broke that understanding when he received the Eucharist during Pope Benedict XVI's visit earlier this month. He received Communion during the April 19 service from one of the many clergymen who offered the sacrament.

Egan says he will be seeking a meeting with Giuliani "to insist that he abide by our understanding."

Giuliani's spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, said Monday that he is willing to meet with the cardinal but added that his faith "is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential."

Egan's statement does not address the fact that Giuliani is on his third marriage. Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment from the church cannot receive Communion.

A spokesman for Egan said that the cardinal referred to the abortion issue rather than to Giuliani's marital history because the agreement that Giuliani would not receive Communion pre-dated his divorce from his second wife, Donna Hanover.

Giuliani's first marriage was annulled based on the fact that he and his wife were second cousins once removed. Giuliani married Hanover in 1984 and they divorced in 2002, while he was New York's mayor. He has been married to the former Judith Nathan since 2003.

Communion and abortion rights became a storyline in 2004, when Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic, came under scrutiny for supporting abortion rights in conflict with church teaching.

Egan's criticism of Giuliani, however, is a rare case of a Catholic bishop criticizing a public figure by name. Most bishops who spoke about Communion and the responsibility of Catholic politicians did so in general terms without naming names.

Kerry's own archbishop, Sean O'Malley of Boston, endorsed the principle without naming the senator.


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URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24359892/

Can someone elaborate on what it means to receive the Eucharist? Is it the bread and wine that is given to the congregation?

quote:

Originally posted by limer:
Can someone elaborate on what it means to receive the Eucharist? Is it the bread and wine that is given to the congregation?

Yes, it is the bread and wine -the Communion.

Giulani going to heaven!!!

quote:

Originally posted by limer:
Can someone elaborate on what it means to receive the Eucharist? Is it the bread and wine that is given to the congregation?

Bhai, outside of religious talk, it is the symbolic acceptance of J sacrifice..his body and blood for humans. and that salvation rests thru him. it also signifies Jesus presence with the believer when the ritual/sacrament/ordinance is done.

quote:

Originally posted by dara shikoh:

quote:

Originally posted by limer:
Can someone elaborate on what it means to receive the Eucharist? Is it the bread and wine that is given to the congregation?

Bhai, outside of religious talk, it is the symbolic acceptance of J sacrifice..his body and blood for humans. and that salvation rests thru him. it also signifies Jesus presence with the believer when the ritual/sacrament/ordinance is done.

SO in essence Egan's locking the gate on Guiliani...to bad for him.

It is a matter of institutional ethics, and giuliani violated it. It is almost the same in islam...the "pesh imam" will not do the janazah for a perosn who commits suicide. because that would appear to endorse the action. The Pope, like him or not, is the highest authority, and cannot condone a pro-choicer--which in catholicism, is tantamount to murder. This is why the cardinal asked G to not go for the eucharist. If the C's story is true...and I doubt he would lie--then G erred on several counts. But i would not have expected better from him in teh first place.

Maybe the man needed a quick drink and there was plenty of free wine...