Clarkson takes Catholic Communion. (News in Brief: Canada).

Quebec City--The Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star reported on January 23, 2002, that Governor General Adrienne Clarkson regularly takes communion in Catholic services in Quebec. With a few narrow exceptions, the Church's practice is to refuse communion to non-Catholics. "Mrs. Clarkson attends Mass fairly regularly in Quebec City at the basilica," said her spokesman Stewart Wheeler.

Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais also gave Clarkson communion in September 2002, when she came forward at the memorial service for photographer Yousuf Karsh in Notre Dame Cathedral. Garvielle Tasse, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa archdiocese explained that the archbishop decided not to "make a scene about it and refuse communion." But he has now told Tasse: "The Governor General should not have come forward. It is not a policy in the Church to give communion to people of other faiths."

When contacted by the newspapers, Deacon Bill Kokesch, spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: "The rule in general is that there is no inter-communion between Catholics and other religions. But what often happens is that, when someone might be embarrassed by being turned away, it is done, just for civility."

Art Babych, an Ottawa-based writer for Canadian Catholic News Service, photographed Clarkson taking communion from Gervais and said he was stunned by the lack of response in the Canadian Church. None of the Catholic weeklies published the photo. "It is time some of these issues were raised," he said.

Wheeler said that, shortly after becoming Governor General, Clarkson visited her residence at the Citadel in Quebec City and spoke to senior members of the archdiocese there because she knew she would be attending funerals and other public services in Catholic Churches. "She spoke to members of the clergy, and expressed her wish to take communion, and was told it was fine."

Comment:

As our readers know, this approval is unacceptable. The Governor General's persuasion is vaguely Christian, if Christian at all. She and other non-Catholics should never be given Holy Communion for civility's sake. When a non-Catholic steps forward, the priest may give him or her a blessing, but not Holy Communion. These incidents make the Catholic religion look just like a sect, weak and vacillating, all in an apparent need not too appear harsh or intolerant to the eyes of the world.