Last week, on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, Rev. Richard Bucci of Sacred Heart Church in Rhode Island handed out a flyer with a list of all politicians in the state who backed abortion rights in a law passed last year… insisting that those lawmakers would never be allowed to receive communion in the Church.

“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. In addition, they will not be allowed to act as witnesses to marriage, godparents, or lectors at weddings, funerals or any other church function.” The Roman Catholic Diocese tacitly condoned the flier, which Father Bucci also mailed to the homes of several legislators.

He means that as a punishment, but those lawmakers should be celebrating the rejection. When the corrupt Catholic Church is attacking you for putting women’s safety and bodily choice over tribal mythology, you’re on the right track.

It also doesn’t help that Bucci’s very church has been the site of sexual abuse scandals. So he doesn’t actually care about anyone else’s health and safety.

… Rep. Carol McEntee angrily denounced the action by a current priest at “the parish where my sister, Dr. Ann Hagan Webb, endured years of sexual abuse as a child … where I was asked to leave a family member’s funeral by Father Bucci in a most disturbing way in December 2019 (in the middle of the funeral Mass),” she said. (His version: he told her she could not deliver a eulogy — which she said she did not intend — because it was not allowed.) “This is nothing more than another vicious outburst by Father Bucci,” said McEntee, who received the flier at her home in South Kingstown. “He is unfit to be a priest, and I call on him to resign immediately. … I also call on Bishop [Thomas] Tobin to withdraw and disown this notice and issue a full apology to all individuals who are listed in this notice.

Bucci also seems blissfully unaware of other things in his own house. 48% of the people who call themselves Catholic also support abortion rights. Unless Bucci wants to purge the Church of everyone who rejects its narrow-minded theology, he’s just picking and choosing which rules to follow.

I would love to see some of these candidates use the Catholic attack in a future campaign ad: You’re damn right the Catholic Church denied me communion! That’s how strong I am on abortion rights!

It’s bizarre that this is the hill people like Bucci are choosing to die on. If he really wanted to punish people for violating Catholic doctrine, he should look in the pews.

(Thanks to Brian for the link. Portions of this article were published earlier)

