A pro-abortion Teachta Dála (TD), a member of the lower house of the Irish Parliament, was denied Communion at a funeral Mass last week in Cork, Ireland, the BBC reports.
Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, who is a current Minister for the Department of Health, was at a funeral when Blarney parish priest Fr. Gabriel Burke gave TD Burke a blessing when he presented himself for Communion, but did not allow the Irish politician to receive the Eucharist.
Fr. Burke confirmed the events to the Irish Times, and explained it was due to the TD’s historical and continuing support for abortion in the country.
“As a senator, Colm Burke voted for abortion after the 2018 referendum and he knows the teaching of the [Catholic] Church that any politician who voted abortion cannot receive Communion – Archbishop Eamon Martin made that very clear before the vote on abortion,” he said. Fr. Burke also said that his bishop had stated that any pro-abortion politician should not present themselves to receive Holy Communion, and that “Colm Burke knew that because he was here twice before, and he’s been refused Communion on both those occasions.”
Political parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were the coalition government and major political drivers behind the movement that repealed Ireland’s pro-life 8th Amendment in 2018, leading to the eventual legalization of abortion on demand in Ireland through 12 weeks of pregnancy, as well as other cases like fetal anomalies. TD Burke also voted to repeal the amendment, according to RTE news. Additionally, the Department of Health that TD Burke helps to lead has repeatedly reiterated a pro-abortion position and has an active role in helping women to procure abortions.
READ: Pro-life group sounds alarm as Ireland sees ‘colossal’ increase in abortions
In 2023, abortions in Ireland increased to a record high of 10,000, which was up from 8,876 abortions committed in 2022. At Ireland’s March for Life this year, Pro-Life Campaign announced a push to educate voters on where Irish politicians stand on right-to-life issues.
According to the Code of Canon Law which governs the Catholic Church, those who procure a completed abortion incur an automatic excommunication, and also that those who have been excommunicated or who are “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin” cannot be admitted to Communion. In 2022, Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco met with Nancy Pelosi and made it known to her and to the public that her public and ongoing support for abortion meant that she must not present herself for Communion within his archdiocese.
TD Burke has not taken the news lying down. “I have been a mass-goer all my life and I was taken aback that this would happen in front of (my friend’s) family. I thought it (the priest’s stance) wasn’t the way to deal with it,” he said to the Irish Examiner.
He also told Cork Beo that he would be reaching out to the Diocese “seeking clarification as to my status in attending future Church ceremonies in the Diocese,” and that he was unaware of any canonical penalties in which he could be denied Communion. “My understanding is that Canon Law, in fact, doesn’t give him the authority to refuse to give Holy Communion to anyone.” A spokesperson for the Diocese said they had spoken to Mr. Burke and that the bishop would be reaching out to discuss the incident.
Pope Francis, speaking on the topic of abortion and excommunication in 2021, stated that “Those who are not in the community cannot receive Communion,” as they are “estranged” from the Church, and that abortion is “a homicide. No middle terms. Whomever does an abortion, kills.” Pope Francis also stressed the importance of addressing the topic pastorally.
But for Fr. Burke, the issue is very clear. “It’s very simple,” he told Gript Media, “Catholic politicians are to fight as well as they can for the dignity of the human person, born and unborn […] Colm Burke has been on the radio, making out that he’s the victim. The victims are the 39,000 babies killed since the legislation was changed. Over 10,000 alone last year. That was 1/6 of the babies conceived in Ireland last year, ended in abortion. Those are the victims.”
