Hi, David —
The Church has spoken explicitly on the point. In the 1973 document Immensae
Caritatis, which instituted the practice of appointing lay persons
to distribute Holy Communion, the Sacred Congregation for the Discipline
of the Sacraments wrote that the person appointed to that sacred duty
must be someone distinguished by his Christian life and morals.
In my opinion, the bishop of Fall River, the Most Rev. Sean O'Malley,
OFM Cap., is known for orthodoxy, piety, and a pro-life commitment, so I
hope that he would also not approve permitting Senator Kennedy to distribute
the Holy Eucharist. For now, I presume he was not consulted in the case.
If the report turns out to be true, you have every right to let the bishop
know how scandalous the event was.
Nevertheless, we have a duty to belong to the Catholic Church because of the truth of the Catholic Faith, and because of the identity of
the Church as the Communion founded by our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Neither
of those aspects is negated by the scandalous actions of erring Catholics,
whatever those actions may be.
Yours in our Lord,
Andrew
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