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# Kennedy Denied Communion
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/kennedy_denied_communion_221120090104/
- Published: 2009-11-22T13:04:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T12:33:58.000Z
- Description: Rep. Patrick Kennedy says Bishop Thomas Tobin has barred him from receiving communion over his position on abortion and instructed other Rhode Island priests to do the same, which a spokesman for the bishop denies.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Nutrition, #vivvo-import

*By Rachel Stockton*

Just as his uncle’s Catholic faith made headlines fifty years ago, Patrick Kennedy’s Catholicism and its influence on his politics is currently making news; albeit for vastly different reasons.

JFK’s dedication to his faith (he was the first Roman Catholic president) made some uneasy; there were those who feared an unhealthy alliance between Kennedy and the Pope would ensue if he was elected. Patrick Kennedy’s apparent lack thereof, at least when it comes to abortion, is causing tension and has catapulted him into the headlines.

 In a phone interview Saturday, Kennedy told reporters that Roman Catholic bishop Tom Tobin has refused to allow to him to receive communion. He also said that Bishop Tobin has instructed other priests in the state to refuse Kennedy the sacrament. A spokesperson for Tobin, however, claims that he issued no such mandate to other priests in the diocese.

The Catholic Church has unequivocally held on to its opposition on abortion; while many Catholics now practice birth control, abortion is viewed as murder, and an attempt to circumvent the will of God.

Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is one of the holy sacraments. Practicing Roman Catholics believe in extreme unction; in other words, that the wine and unleavened bread are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ - a belief that in itself, is somewhat controversial.