Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin issues a forceful response to Rep. Patrick Kennedy.

Thomas Tobin, bishop of Providence, R.I., is in a public tiff with Rep. Patrick Kennedy over receiving Communion.

"We thank Bishop Thomas Tobin for his efforts to defend innocent life and the dignity and honor due Our Lord, present in the Blessed Sacrament, by withholding communion from Rep. Patrick Kennedy.

What's Your Reaction? PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy from receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, in Rhode Island because of the congressman's support for abortion rights, Kennedy said in a newspaper interview published Sunday.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker defended Rep. Patrick Kennedy on Monday against a bishop who has acknowledged asking the Rhode Island congressman not to receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion rights.

A month of harsh words between Rep. Patrick Kennedy and a strident critic, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, escalated Sunday when the bishop acknowledged asking Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion because of the Democratic lawmaker's support for abortion rights.

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. | The Roman Catholic bishop of Rhode Island said Sunday that he asked Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy in a 2007 letter to stop receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, because of the congressman's public stance on moral issues. Bishop Thomas Tobin divulged details of his confidential exchange with Mr. Kennedy after the Democratic lawmaker told the Providence ...

The Roman Catholic bishop of Rhode Island said Sunday that he asked Rep. Patrick Kennedy in a 2007 letter to stop receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, because of the congressman's public stance on moral issues.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Pennsylvania lawmaker defended Rep. Patrick Kennedy on Monday against a bishop who has acknowledged asking the Rhode Island congressman not to receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion rights. ... - The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) — A lawmaker defended Rep. Patrick Kennedy on Monday against a bishop who has acknowledged asking the Rhode Island congressman not to receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion rights.