UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Michael Sean Winters | Mar. 5, 2013

Ever since 2004, when then-Archbishop Raymond Burke warned that he would deny communion to Sen. John Kerry because of the senator’s pro-choice stance, many of us have argued that Burke’s interpretation of Canon 915 was mistaken, that it is not the place of the minister of communion to decide whether or not a person should receive communion, but that it is up to the communicant to make the decision whether or not to present herself for communion. Most American bishops, and the Bishop of Rome, have never followed Burke’s advice. One Latin American cardinal said denying communion to someone for such a reason would be a scandal. Burke’s position is the minority position and it deserves to be such.

So, it is more than a little curious to see many of the same people who argued…