Catholic Cardinal ‘will refuse communion’ to politicians who voted for same-sex marriage
Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke has said he would refuse communion to any politician who voted in favour of same-sex marriage.
US Cardinal Raymond Burke, a former Archbishop of St Louis, is known as one of the most extreme anti-gay figures in the Catholic church – just last month calling for parents to keep their children away from gay relatives.
He was last week stripped of his influential role as head of the Apostolic Signatura, and instead handed a ceremonial role with no responsibilities.
Speaking to RTE in Ireland, Burke refused to comment on his demotion, and also would not talk about the upcoming referendum on equal marriage in the country.
However, he did say he would refuse to give communion to any legislators who voted in favour of equality.
He said he would have “issues giving holy communion” to Catholic legislators who backed gay rights against church doctrine.
Cardinal Burke previously claimed: “[Homophobia is] simply announcing the truth, helping people to discriminate right from wrong in terms of their own activities.”
Speaking today at an interfaith conference on ‘traditional marriage’, the Pope declared that marriage between a man and a woman is “in crisis”.
He said: “It is fitting that you have gathered here in this international colloquium to explore the complementarity of man and woman.
“We know that today marriage and the family are in crisis.
“We now live in a culture of the temporary, in which more and more people are simply giving up on marriage as a public commitment.
“This revolution in manners and morals has often flown the flag of freedom, but in fact it has brought spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.”
