Rhode Island Priest Refuses Communion to Politicians Who Voted for Baby Killing Bill
Jose Nino
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A Rhode Island priest recently declared that he would prevent state officials from receiving Communion if they voted for a pro-abortion bill from last year.
Reverend Richard Bucci of Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick placed a letter in the church’s weekend bulletin exposing the lawmakers who voted for the Reproductive Privacy Act, which enshrined the Roe v. Wade decision in Rhode Island law. The elected officials listed are prohibited from receiving Communion, witnessing marriages or serving as godparents, he told NBC 10 last Monday.
Carolyn Cronin, a spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, informed the channel that while the church provides detailed instructions for sacraments it is “the pastor’s duty to apply them within his parish, in accord with Church law. This includes the proper reception of Holy Communion as outlined by the Code of Canon Law. Because the Church entrusts to each pastor the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and governing his parish, the daily pastoral and administrative decisions are made at the local parish level.”
Democrat State Senator Adam Satchell said he discovered that his name was on the letter from friends who attend the church.
“I was recently asked to be my niece’s godfather, and I happily accepted,” Satchell stated. “My wife was excited. It was going to be her first godchild, and now we can’t.”
State Representative Carol Hagan McEntee said Bucci asked her to leave a relative’s funeral and prohibited her from delivering a eulogy. McEntee’s older sister previously testified that she was the victim of sexual abuse as a child. According to the channel’s report, a priest who preceded Bucci allegedly committed this sexual abuse.
“If he wants to weigh the heinous crime that his predecessor committed on my sister, compared to what he believes I did wrong by voting for what I believe is right for the people of the state of Rhode Island, I don’t think they even compare,” McEntee said.
Bucci stood his ground, stating “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,” according to NBC 10.
Such actions should be lauded and emulated by other activists in the conservative space when pushing their respective issues.
The right to life is among the most sacred of rights that has been under assault during the past few decades via judicial activism and federal overreach against lower levels of government.
Bucci’s example shows how pro-life individuals can have an impact in non-political venues.
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