An Irish politician who voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment – which grants an equal right to life to both mother and unborn child, has been refused Holy Communion by a priest.
Fine Gael member of Irish parliament and Minister of State, Colm Burke was reportedly denied the Eucharist during a funeral Mass for a fellow party member on Friday.
According to reports from RTE, Fr Gabriel Burke of Blarney parish reportedly told Burke he had been “excommunicated” over his “support for abortion.”
The Junior Health Minister is said to have been “taken aback” by the incident, the BBC reports.
The repeal of the Eighth Amendment led to the legalisation of abortion in the Republic of Ireland. In May 2018 the equal right to life for both mother and unborn child was repealed, following a vote to overturn the abortion ban that passed 66.4 per cent to 33.6 per cent.
Colm Burke, who claims Fr Burke has refused him Holy Communion before, does not have the authority to refuse it to anyone under Canon Law.
The minister has contacted his local diocese about the matter and is awaiting response from the bishop.
The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has “unambiguously condemned” the excommunication.
"It is not the role of the priest to judge the conscience of another person. The priest does not own the Eucharist and would do well to ponder the statement of Pope Francis that he has never refused the Eucharist to anyone," an ACP statement reads.
