Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has found himself in a bit of an imbroglio this week. Having attended the state funeral of former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc, the evangelical Harper has been accused of pocketing a communion wafer, an action considered "seriously offensive" by Catholics [scroll down for explanation]. But as professor of Internet and E-commerce law Michael Geist notes, the confusing thing about the controversy isn't whether the PM did or didn't eat the wafer (or even whether he should have been offered it in the first place), but rather why Societe Radio-Canada (the French name for the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has yanked a video of the incident from YouTube. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Jul 9, 2009 - 63 comments

The most challenging scenario(video) of communion distribution in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. See the Pope on 5th Avenue or vote for your favorite papal skateboard design. Other activities. Itinerary. Security. Via.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed on Apr 12, 2008 - 15 comments

Did the new Pope swing the Presidential election last year? After brown-nosing the Vatican on the grounds of being pro-life President Bush convinced then-Cardinal Ratzinger to work on the American Catholic Church on his behalf. Ratzinger's response? This memo where Ratzi claimed that anyone (especially a Catholic politician - like Kerry) who campaigned and voted pro-choice was not only on the side of evil but was unworthy of receiving Communion and Americans probably shouldn't vote for him. According to Salon, this was perhaps what was behind Bush's 6 point increase in Catholic support from 2000, and the difference in the 2004 election.
posted by tsarfan on Apr 21, 2005 - 48 comments

Communion rights? There is a lot of controversy regarding communion these days. Seems like the Church wants to hold it hostage in order to get what they want politically regarding abortion. Kerry is criticized for taking it, NJ Gov. McGreevy can't have it. But what about Pols that support the death penalty, shouldn't they abstain too? When it comes to communion, should anyone be getting in line these days?
posted by lilboo on May 20, 2004 - 36 comments

Jesus! In The Raisin Bread? What Kinda Holy Communion Is That?! Better read Helen Hull Hitchcock's fascinating column on Catholic.net to find out: "In recent months Catholics from around the country have been reporting with increasing frequency that their parishes are using "real" bread (i.e. table bread) instead of Communion hosts. Many are concerned that the validity of the Mass is affected. "Have I really received Christ?" is a frequent question. Are they right to be concerned? You bet...So, have progressive Catholics gone too far? And what does the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, known to all as IGMR, have to say about that?
posted by MiguelCardoso on Apr 2, 2002 - 53 comments

Catholic Church to Kid: "Drop dead"! She wanted to take Holy Communion, but had a disease where she couldn't eat the bread. When she asked for a substitute, the Catholic church refused.
posted by owillis on Feb 2, 2001 - 21 comments