Church leaders must use same hymn sheet

ARCHBISHOP Diarmuid Martin was recently asked a serious question regarding his attitude towards Catholic Senator John Kerry, the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, and the controversy surrounding his right to receive holy communion.

Unfortunately, Dr Martin's woolly response that "the altar should not be used as a political battlefield" does not reflect the magisterium (Rome's) position on the matter.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Cult, articulated an extraordinarily clear church position when he spoke at the presentation of Redemptionis Sacramentum, which is a 71-page document of instruction on "certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the most holy eucharist.'