Politics, Abortion and the Eucharist... again

Pope Benedict XVI stirs the waters again in the popular debate over whether bishops should deny Communion to (or possibly excommunicate) politicians who support abortion rights. During his plane ride to Brazil today, he was asked about Mexican bishops who are threatening excommunication for Catholic politicians who voted for recent legislation that legalized abortion in the country.

Asked whether he agreed with the excommunication penalty, the pope answered: "Yes, these excommunications were not something arbitrary, but are foreseen by the Code (of Canon Law). It is simply part of church law that the killing of an innocent baby is incompatible with being in communion with the body of Christ," he said.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, told reporters that the pope was not announcing a new policy on Catholic politicians. He also noted that the Mexican bishops had not announced the excommunication of anyone.

"And if the bishops haven't excommunicated anyone, it's not that the pope wants to do so," Father Lombardi said.

He said the pope was only reiterating the teaching that Catholic legislators who promote initiatives like the legalization of abortion exclude themselves from the conditions needed to participate fully in the Eucharist.