Fr Gabriel Burke would not give communion to Colm Burke who says priest him told he had been ‘excommunicated’
Minister of State and Fine Gael TD Colm Burke was refused Holy Communion by a priest at the funeral Mass of a constituent in County Cork because of his support of repealing the Eighth Amendment in the Dail.
Fr Gabriel Burke, curate in the parish of Blarney, confirmed that he had refused Mr Burke Holy Communion at the funeral mass of an elderly local man in St Patrick’s Church in Whitechurch on Friday because of “his support for abortion”.
“Colm Burke voted for abortion and he knows the teaching of the [Catholic] Church that any politician who voted abortion cannot receive communion – Archbishop Eamon Martin made that very clear before the vote on abortion in 2013,” said Fr Burke.
“Archbishop Martin said that any politician that voted for abortion in Dáil Éireann was ‘co-operating with evil’ and should not present for communion and Colm Burke knew that because he was here twice before, and he’s been refused communion on both those occasions.”
- Given that the Catholic Church claims to be universal and the Pope infallible, how many people in Scotland find themselves in a similar situation to Colm Burke TD and how many of them consider themselves to be excommunicated? Editor
Top of page picture: People protesting against abortion outside clinics in Glasgow.