Apr 28, 2008 / 14:23 pm
During Pope Benedict’s visit to the U.S. just over a week ago, some pro-abortion politicians, including Rudy Giuliani and John Kerry, received Communion at the papal Mass. Today Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York, released a statement expressing his displeasure with Giuliani for receiving the Eucharist.
Cardinal Egan began by repeating the Church’s position on abortion and his defense of that position. “The Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God. Throughout my years as Archbishop of New York, I have repeated this teaching in sermons, articles, addresses, and interviews without hesitation or compromise of any kind,” he said.
According to Cardinal Egan, he had established “an understanding with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani”, that dated back to when he first became “the Archbishop of New York and he was serving as Mayor of New York”.
The understanding was, “that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known support of abortion,” the cardinal said.
The head of the Church in New York expressed his deep regret that “Mr. Giuliani received the Eucharist during the Papal visit here in New York” and added that he “will be seeking a meeting with him to insist that he abide by our understanding.”
Giuliani's spokeswoman, Sunny Mindel, responded to the cardinal's statement by saying that Giuliani is willing to meet with the cardinal but added that his faith "is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential."