A priest in Rhode Island has defended his decision to bar 44 lawmakers, who voted in favor of the Reproductive Privacy Act, by saying 'pedophilia doesn't kill anyone' but abortion does.

Rev. Richard Bucci, of Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick, shared the names of people banned from receiving communion at his parish in a flier last month.

'In accord with the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2000 years, the following members of the legislature may NOT receive Holy Communion, as are all the officers of the state of Rhode Island, as well as Rhode Island's members of Congress,' the flier read.

'In addition, they will not be allowed to act as witnesses to marriage, godparents, or lectors at weddings, funerals or any other church function.'

Rev. Richard Bucci said Sunday: 'We are not talking about any other moral issue' where people connect pedophilia and abortion. 'Pedophilia doesn't kill anyone and this does'

Rev. Richard Bucci shared the names of people banned from receiving communion at his parish in a flier last month. He said they 'will not be allowed to act as witnesses to marriage, godparents, or lectors at weddings, funerals or any other church function'

Bucci denies asking one lawmaker to leave in the middle of a relative's funeral Mass, instead saying he told her she could not deliver a eulogy because it was not allowed

One lawmaker who claims she was molested at the church by a priest who is now deceased, has said the flier was retaliation for championing the state's law to extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors.

The allegations of the reverend being part of a wider cover-up in the church's sex abuse scandal stem from Democrat State Representative Carol Hagan McEntee's claim that from the age of five she and her sister Ann were molested by a priest at Bucci's church for seven years. The priest is now dead.

The sisters championed the state's law to extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors and believes Bucci is 'taking issue with this, out of all the churches in Rhode Island'.

'Personally, I feel this is a continued attack by him on me and my family because of what happened to my sister. And he's come up with this latest way,' McEntee told CBS News.

The flier was sent out to some lawmakers including McEntee, who has claimed Father Bucci asked her to leave a family member's funeral 'in a most disturbing way in December 2019'.

Bucci denies he asked her to leave in the middle of the funeral Mass, instead saying he told her she could not deliver a eulogy because it was not allowed.

McEntee maintains that she didn't intend to deliver eulogy.

The flier was sent many months after the Reproductive Privacy Act was signed into law last spring. It serves to codify women's private rights to make medical decisions as guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.

McEntee's colleague Julie Casimiro backed her up, adding to CBS News: 'Fr. Bucci would love to have you all think this is about the codification of Roe V Wade. If it was, why wasn't the list published last year when we took the vote? Why did only a few lawmakers receive the mailing at home?

'This is retribution to the Hagen-McEntee family for shining the light on sexual assault within the Catholic Church and Sacred Heart, in particular.'

Casimiro claimed online that the General Assembly should share 'a list of pedophile priests not welcome at the State House. That is a much longer list.'

Carol Hagan McEntee claims that from the age of five she and her sister Ann were molested by a priest at Bucci's church for seven years. The priest is now dead. The sisters championed the state's law to extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors and believes Bucci is 'taking issue with this, out of all the churches in Rhode Island'

McEntee's colleague Julie Casimiro backed her up, adding: 'Fr. Bucci would love to have you all think this is about the codification of Roe V Wade. If it was, why wasn't the list published last year when we took the vote?'

Sen. Adam Satchell was also banned from the church and says it stopped him from being godfather to his niece

On Sunday the 72-year-old Rev. doubled down on his action as he told WJAR: 'We are not talking about any other moral issue, where some may make it a comparison between pedophilia and abortion. Pedophilia doesn't kill anyone and this does.'

Sen. Adam Satchell was also banned from the church and says it stopped him from being godfather to his niece.

McEntee and other lawmakers have also blasted Bishop Thomas Tobin's siding with Bucci.

Tobin tweeted last week: 'As the presidential primary shifts to New England, it's sad to note that all of the major Democratic candidates are pro-abortion, supporting even partial-birth abortion. Where are pro-life Democrats supposed to turn? Or are pro-life voters not welcome in the Democratic party?'

The Rev. told the Providence Journal that the lawmakers should not be angry about the flier shared in his parish: 'If they are proud of what they have done, why do they want to keep it a secret?

'If they think this is a good and wholesome and holy thing ... they should be proud of it, and why should I hide that from my parishioners?,' he continued.

Adding: 'They call me 'Father' so that I may have an influence in their lives, and this is a serious issue of life and death.'

McEntee and other lawmakers have also blasted Bishop Thomas Tobin's siding with Bucci

But lawmakers have noted their votes were made public on the General Assembly website last year and Democratic rep Justine Caldwell tweeted: 'Their defense is laughable'

But lawmakers have noted their votes were made public on the General Assembly website last year.

Democratic rep Justine Caldwell tweeted: 'Their defense is laughable. None of our votes are hidden - I campaigned on this issue! If they just wanted to do a PSA, they didn't have to say we couldn't be godparents or receive communion. No one has a problem with their votes on the record.

'They have a problem with the lack of respect for the separation of church and state, and for our votes on behalf of our constituents being punished by a church who protected child abusers.'

Rev. Bucci has said: 'Now, I don't know what else I have to say about it, this is the teaching of the church. The Canon Law of the church, the Second Vatican Council, and the First Catechism of the church. I don't know what more evidence I should have to present.'