Priest’s refusal to give communion to Minister over abortion vote ‘not reflective of the majority’

The refusal by a Cork priest to give communion to a Minister who voted for legislation allowing abortion in certain circumstances is not reflective of the majority of priests and is damaging the church and the priesthood, a fellow cleric has claimed.

Fr Tim Hazelwood, who is on the leadership team of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), criticised the actions of Fr Gabriel Burke of Blarney parish when refusing Holy Communion to Minister of State Colm Burke at a funeral mass in Whitechurch on Friday.

“I am not critical of the person, but I am critical of his actions – what happened in Whitechurch last Friday is not reflective of the majority of priests here in the Diocese of Cloyne and it is damaging to the priesthood,” said Fr Hazelwood, a former curate in Blarney.

“It is damaging because it is polarising – it’s seeking to return a past in the church that should be long gone and it’s turning people away. We should be welcoming people into the church not turning them away from the sacraments,” he added.

Fr Burke said he refused to give Holy Communion to Mr Burke because of “his support for abortion.”

“As a senator, Colm Burke voted for abortion after the 2018 referendum and he knows the teaching of the church that any politician who voted for abortion cannot receive communion – Archbishop Eamon Martin made that very clear before the vote on abortion,” said Fr Burke.

“Archbishop Martin said that any politician that voted for abortion in Dail Eireann was ‘co-operating with evil’ and should not present for communion and Colm Burke knew that because he was here twice before, and he’s been refused communion on both those occasions.”

Mr Burke said when he approached Fr Burke for communion at the funeral mass on Friday, Fr Burke told him that he was excommunicated and refused to give him communion. He said he was forced to walk away without receiving the sacrament.

But Fr Burke said that he had not excommunicated Mr Burke but rather the politician had excommunicated himself when he voted in the Senate in 2018 to introduce legislation permitting abortion after the people had voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

“I haven’t excommunicated Colm Burke, the Pope hasn’t excommunicated Colm Burke, Colm Burke excommunicated himself when he voted for the legislation – it was a Latae Sententia excommunication which is a penalty that automatically occurs.”

Fr Burke said he didn’t know whether he was in the minority or the majority when it came to reflecting the views of priests, but he had received messages of support from priests all over the country and from parishioners in Whitechurch.

Fr Hazelwood said the logic of Fr Burke’s argument was that everyone who voted to Repeal the Eighth Amendment was similarly supporting abortion and not entitled to receive communion.

Fr Burke said he had acted in “good conscience” and he dismissed a statement by the ACP, which “unambiguously condemned” his actions.

Diocese of Cloyne spokesman Fr Jim Moore confirmed Mr Burke had been in contact over the issue.

He said Bishop William Crean is currently indisposed but would be in touch with Mr Burke.