Poor Bishop Thomas Tobin. The leader of the Diocese of Providence is really taking it on the chin for asking U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy to refrain from presenting himself for Communion due to his public pro-choice position. The other day, I saw Chris Matthews going after Bishop Tobin on "Hardball". Now, according to an article I just read, anti-clergy abuse protesters are active outside of Bishop Tobin's office.
I will be the first to express concern when a bishop refuses Communion to anyone, including a Catholic pro-choice politician. However, I think the people targeting Bishop Tobin have it wrong. First, as far as I know, he has not denied or ordered any ministers to deny Communion to anyone. A few years ago, Bishop Tobin privately requested that Rep. Kennedy refrain from presenting himself for Communion due to his public pro-choice position. Appropriately so, Bishop Tobin placed the onus on Rep. Kennedy. Also, Rep. Kennedy is the one that made the request public after he bashed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for expressing concern about the possibility of publicly funded abortions being included in health care reform.
Those that think that Bishop Tobin targeted Rep. Kennedy for political reasons are making a big stretch. Given the timing, it seems to me that the anti-clergy abuse protests against Bishop Tobin are more for political reasons than for justice for abuse victims.
Is this how the two party system works?!?!
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